BUFFALO, NY — A new BA.2.86 variant of COVID-19 has been reported in the United States, not quite in NYS but, the community in Buffalo is preparing for what this means for them as mothers, doctors, and pharmacists.
On Tuesday morning, mother of four, Sarah Ham told 7 News Reporter Jaurdyn Johnson she feels better prepared but worried and hopeful at the same time.
I feel like we are better prepared we have options, with vaccinations, we know about hand washing and masking when people are sick. I feel better prepared but also hopeful that nothing big will come our way.
A new COVID-19 vaccine that will attack omicron variants is soon to come in September, and Black Rock Pharmacy owner Brad Arthur says his staff is busy preparing for the arrival of those vaccines.
"The vaccine may or may not be covered but hopefully it is but for the people in this community they can rest assured it will be covered by their New York State Medicaid Health Benefit."
While local pharmacies prepare and parents look forward to a new school year -- Pediatrician Steven Lana has not seen any COVID-19 cases in his office but is recommending parents keep their sick child home.
"If they are sick they should stay home, that's in regards to COVID, RSV, Influenza or any common viral illness"
UB Jacob School of Medicine Associate Professor Mark Hicar says that strains will continue to pop up, so it is best to be prepared.
"Right now we are in this period of watching us and this virus come into a balance so it is hard to say how many different strains will expand, if we will keep doing this every year, or if we keep chasing our tails or if this is the last hurrah."
The Erie County Health Department sent 7 News this message regarding COVID-19 rates in the county:
Because there are very low numbers of people reporting COVID-19 tests, public healthagencies cannot reliably use COVID-19 testing data to show trends. Instead we look to COVID-19 related hospitalizations as a window into the current COVID-19 picture, along with COVID-19 wastewater surveillance.
Western New York hospitals have reported a slight increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, which aligns with previous increases that we have seen in fall 2020, fall 2021 and fall 2022.
Wastewater data show that COVID-19 is still circulating in our community.
Watch: Dr. Steven Lana's full interview with 7 News reporter Jaurdyn Johnson
