Fox News medical contributor says it's time to let omicron variant circulate among the population
Nicole Saphier: “At this point, it is time to move forward and allow this mild infection to circulate”
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From the December 15, 2021, edition of Fox News’ America’s Newsroom
BILL HEMMER (CO-ANCHOR): I think what we have learned the most about this pandemic is that when the virus mutates and gets stronger, we might be in trouble. But when the virus mutates and gets weaker, that's a great sign because the virus is dying out. And back to your example in South Africa, that seems to be the pattern here. Yes, more contagious -- highly contagious I should say -- but fewer severe cases and fewer hospitalizations. I think that's all very good news for us and for the world.
NICOLE SAPHIER (FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR): Well, that's right, Bill. And as we have now moved into an era where we have vaccines, we have boosters, we have treatments, and we have a large amount of natural immunity in our country, we should be able to move forward allowing the fact that this virus is causing very mild illness in people who are vaccinated and younger populations, including those people who have become boosted.
There will always be people who are vulnerable to this virus, just like every year we see people vulnerable to flu and other causes of pneumonia. We need to continue to protect them. But for the rest of society, it is time to move forward. We have never required a vaccine to prevent the sniffles. People at this point have access to affordable vaccines that can reduce their risk of severe illness, and they can get boosted at this point if they want to, to even further reduce their very low risk of severe illness. At this point, it is time to move forward and allow this mild infection to circulate so we can continue to build that hybrid immunity, the combination of vaccine induced and natural immunity, which has proven to be the most robust form of immunity that will continue to build that wall of protection.