The omicron surge is quieting down in Idaho, but health officials say case rates are still much higher than at any other point during the pandemic.
Idaho likely reached its peak of new omicron cases at the end of January, according to Dr. Kathryn Turner, deputy state epidemiologist.
"The virus runs rampant through the available population that it can and then eventually it stops being transmitted and cases go back down," she said during a media briefing Tuesday.
The test positivity rate declined last week, but 34% of tests are still coming back positive, which is about seven times higher than state health officials would like. And there are more than 40,000 outstanding positive tests that have yet to be processed.
Parts of southern Idaho are still in crisis standards of care.
"This is not over," Turner said. "Just because we're starting to see a downward trend, the case numbers are crazy high relative to what they've been early on in the pandemic."
Turner emphasized each new variant brings a new situation, and health leaders don't know what's coming next. They said the best way to prepare is to get vaccinated and boosted.
"We don't know if future variants are on the rise," said Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist. She recommended people get a booster dose to ensure the highest level protection, even those who have previously gotten COVID-19.
People in Idaho with a booster dose were 11 times less likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 20 times less likely to die due to COVID-19, between Dec. 1, 2021, and Jan. 29, 2022, compared to people who were not fully-vaccinated, according to data presented by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
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