IDPH director on the omicron variant

Posted on November 30, 2021
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. (Twitter/BlueRoomStream)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Like everyone else in the medical community, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is learning all she can as fast as she can about the fast-moving omicron variant of coronavirus.

“We know that it’s not a matter of if but when we will confirm cases in the United States and in Illinois,” said the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. “But we are in a completely different spot and phase in 2021 (compared to this time last year). We have vaccines. We have vaccinated people. We have boosters. We have boosted people. We have protected children and adolescents and seniors.”

Another thing to keep in mind, said Ezike, is that South Africa, where the new variant is believed to have originated, has a lower vaccination rate than does the U.S.

Ezike reverts to the familiar advice: get both doses of the vaccine, get a booster, and wear a mask.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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