NEW RIVER VALLEY, Va. – A local health director is getting ready to see a rise in COVID cases this holiday season.
But hospitalizations may not be as severe as last year, according to Dr. Noelle Bissell from the New River Health District.
She said we can potentially see more covid cases this holiday season. But because of vaccine availability, we may have fewer hospitalizations.
Based on data and CDC projections, Bissell said we are not going to reach herd immunity.
Therefore, she said we must start learning to live with it as we head into COVID’s endemic.
“We have to learn to dance with COVID,” she said. “This means each individual, each household, each family needs to perform a risk assessment to inform their own behavior.”
Rapid tests are becoming more available.
But Bissell is urging people to submit their at-home test results to the health department to help keep track statewide.