Nurses Share Their Thoughts on the Omicron Variant

It’s official. The omicron variant has been detected in the U.S. The first reported case popped up in the San Francisco area. The man in question recently traveled to South Africa. He is fully vaccinated and tested positive after feeling unwell during Thanksgiving.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about this new strain of the coronavirus, but health officials have described it as a variant of concern, considering it has an unusual combination of mutations that could help it spread faster.

As we get closer to the holiday season, we asked millions of nurses what they think about omicron and here’s what they had to say:

As a Long Covid patient for almost a year now, using a walker and wheelchair, unable to return to my nursing director position, it terrifies me. I’ve been sick every second of every day for almost a year. If I catch this variant, I likely won’t survive it. And many of the millions like me won’t survive it either. We’re stuck relying on the ‘civilized’ society we live in to help protect us, so basically, we’re fucked.

Laurie

One of these two things will likely happen with COVID-19:

1) Mutations give less severity of disease and become endemic.

2) Mutations become our worst nightmare, as deadly as they are contagious.

I am hoping and praying for option 1. We’ll soon find out…

Monica

Honestly? I’m really tired of hearing/reading/thinking about COVID and new variants, etc. I’m burned out. My husband, son and I are vaccinated and we follow CDC guidelines. Unfortunately, people will not change and we will never reach herd immunity.

I was hanging antibodies on an unvaccinated, COVID+ patient in the ED last week while they yelled at me about the mandate and asked me if I was putting the vaccine in his IV. It is incredibly sad and disheartening. We even have nurses in this very thread stating they aren’t anti-vaccine, but rather anti-mandate so they won’t get the vaccine. It wasn’t mandated for almost a year after the vaccine was made available-what was their reason then?

Emily

We had to shut down elective surgeries and open our PACU as an ICU… AGAIN, but you know, it’s not real. ?

On the flip side I guess I’ll keep making $$$ while I take care of the 33yo guy down the street that’s dying from a virus that’s just a con.

Sarah

Viruses mutate, always have. COVID was never going to go away. A more virulent virus doesn’t necessarily mean more deadly. I thought we were taught that as viruses mutate, they generally become weaker. Bacteria can get stronger, but viruses typically get weaker. Things don’t all add up with the projection of the media.

Ashley

Just embrace covid, it will be with us forever just like any other sickness. Boost your immune system and live a life ??‍♀️.

Jen

We won’t be able to out vaccinate this virus. People will get it and live or die. It’s that simple. The Healthcare system was already on the edge of collapse. COVID pushed it over.

Ahava

I’m hoping it’s highly contagious but much less harmful than the previous strains, so it overrides them all and just becomes another bug. But makes anti-vaxxers grow horns so we can avoid them.

Þorgerður

Rearrange the letters and you have: moronic.

Jodi

I want to send love to those who have lost loved ones to this virus and then have to suffer watching people still not care.

Thank you to the nurses and doctors who have worked themselves to the bone and risked their lives to care for people, especially the ingrates, uneducated, and misled yelling at you while you try to save their lives or the life of one of their family members. I think of you every day.

Pamela

Non-compliance = more variants.

Jane

Are they really going to report every change? I mean they need to find out concrete information before reporting on it, instead of doing what they are doing, trying to scare people.

Kristie

I sure didn’t vote for it.

#NotMyVariant

Will

I’m going to keep living the travel nurse life and mind my business all the way through the end of the Greek alphabet.

Jacqueline

My thoughts are that the issue will never be corrected if people don’t take the problem seriously.

Wear your mask, wash your hands, get vaccinated, and STOP acting like the problem doesn’t exist.

Matteo

Religious believers: It’s God’s way of punishing sinners.

Scientists: A deadly disease that’s going to be an ongoing battle, so get vaccinated.

Disbelievers: Covid is fake, it’s just a way for the government to control you by either micro-chipping or making you infertile.

Me: I am tired of hearing of covid, people aren’t going to change, so why keep trying to push them?

Caitlin

Don’t let this be “the sky’s falling 2022.” If it’s bad, get your vaccines. Your nurses are tired.

Christy

Regardless of what you think about the omicron variant, it will likely dominate the U.S. over the next few months. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts online.

These responses have been edited for length and clarity.