Protect your health and commercial fishing career in 2022!
Amid an autumn surge in cases in much of the country, COVID-19's threat to your health and fishing business has literally mutated. Last month’s emergence of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has created grave concerns among epidemiologists, virologists, and health care leaders around the world, and not without good reason. Omicron is much more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant. The increase in new COVID cases from Omicron has been described as "explosive."
Moreover, Omicron has mutations that reduce the effectiveness of the current two-dose vaccines in preventing infections. Recent evidence suggests that the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may only be 30% to 40% effective at preventing infection with Omicron. However, it appears that two-doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech still provided robust protection against severe illness and hospitalization.
The best news what has really been a lot of bad news, is that getting a booster shot increases the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to 70% to 80% effectiveness against infection with the Omicron variant. Phew! Nobody wants COVID-19 for Christmas. You have gotten your booster haven’t you?
If you haven’t gotten a booster shot yet or started with vaccination, now’s the time. You may be taking a break from fishing while celebrating the holidays, but you want to be healthy, fit and ready to work when you get back to it in 2022. After all, how will you pay those after Christmas credit card bills if you’re sick and can’t work? Use the handy Vaccine Finder to locate your vaccination. Get the shot. Catch Fish. Not COVID.