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I have an omicron breakthrough case — what do I do next? An infectious disease doctor weighs in

A man is tested for COVID-19 at a free testing site on Dec. 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A man is tested for COVID-19 at a free testing site on Dec. 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In a little over two weeks, the omicron variant has edged out delta to become the country’s most common COVID-19 infection, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the coming surge could surpass previous peaks.

That could mean hundreds of thousands of new cases a day, if not a million, says former National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins. And while we know vaccinations are still doing what they’re supposed to — preventing people from serious illness and death — we also know there’s an increase in breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated.

So what are the protocols if you become infected — and is it inevitable?

Host Tonya Mosley talks to Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

 

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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