COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease and death from the delta variant, which still accounts for the vast majority of cases, the memo said. Fully boosted people are protected against serious illness and hospitalization from omicron, which is starting to circulate more widely.
Face masks should be worn indoors when with others outside a person’s household, and holiday gatherings should be small, Westergaard said in the advisory. People with COVID-19 symptoms or exposure should get tested.
“It is important for individuals to know whether they have an active COVID-19 infection before gathering,” the advisory said. “Gatherings should also occur in well-ventilated spaces and are always safer outdoors.”
Melms, of Marshfield Clinic, said more than 90% of COVID-19 deaths in the Marshfield system of nine hospitals have been among unvaccinated people. Statewide in November, unvaccinated people were about five times more likely to get COVID-19, 11 times more likely to be hospitalized for it and 12 times more likely to die from the disease than those fully vaccinated, according to the state health department.