OU Health's Chief COVID-19 Officer Addresses Nationwide Rise In Cases, Oklahoma's Status

New daily cases of COVID-19 across the United States soar to their highest level on record.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the US is averaging about 270,000 cases per day, with more than 440,000 on Tuesday. Oklahoma has not seen the same surge as other places yet.

“Rates of transmission of Omicron vary around the nation,” said Dr. Dale Bratzler, the Chief COVID Officer for OU Health. “The northeast, New York, New Jersey those sites, 88 and 89 percent of all new cases are the Omicron variant. That may not be the case in Oklahoma."

Bratzler says estimates for the Omicron variant vary, but while it has been detected in Oklahoma, the state is still seeing cases of the Delta variant.

"It's not evenly spread around the country yet,” said Bratzler. “And I'm not sure we actually know what percentage of the new cases that we're seeing in Oklahoma are Delta versus Omicron."

According to the CDC, Oklahoma ranks 48th in the number of daily new infections per capita but like the rest of the country, Bratzler says the state is seeing an increase in both cases and hospitalizations from previous weeks, but not as high as the northeast.

While the Omicron variant may be less severe than previous strains, he says he's still concerned.

"Even if this variant is milder,” he said. “If you have that many cases, some percentage of them are going to end up in a hospital or have complications."

More than 85 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oklahoma are unvaccinated.

That's why Bratzler says it is important to get a shot if you haven't yet.