The recent proliferation of the omicron variant of COVID-19 resulted in an influx of inpatients at Penn Highlands Healthcare hospitals in December that matched the influx at the height of the pandemic in December 2020.

There are currently 92 COVID-19 inpatients in the hospital system, including 15 at Penn Highlands Huntingdon and one at Penn Highlands Tyrone, according to Russell Cameron, Penn Highlands’ chief medical officer, during a virtual news conference Wednesday.

The overwhelming majority of the inpatients that are doing poorly — either in intensive care, on ventilators or dying — are unvaccinated, Cameron said.

Omicron is more transmissible than the previous dominant variant, delta, with a shorter incubation period and symptoms appearing in as few as three days — thus leading to earlier positive tests and earlier infectiousness, according to Cameron.

It has led to more breakthrough cases, with more vaccinated people getting infected than with delta, he said.

But omicron is milder than delta, especially for vaccinated people — less likely to cause damage to the lungs and less likely to result in hospitalization for a given number of infected patients, Cameron said.

To stay safe, people should get vaccinated, and if they get sick, stay home, he advised. “Don’t go out and spread it.”

When people leave home, they should mask up in public indoor settings, maintain social distance, avoid large gatherings and practice good hygiene, according to Cameron.

They should especially be cautious in the workplace, where there is often a high rate of transmission.

About 80% of Penn Highlands employees have been vaccinated, according to Mark Norman, Penn Highlands’ chief operating officer.

The organization isn’t requiring vaccination, while the courts review the national vaccination mandate for health care workers promulgated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Norman said.

Vaccination rates in the communities the system serves range from 45% to 60%.

Staff at many of the organization’s facilities is “stretched,” with many workers getting sick, but the staff has been doing an “incredible job,” he said.

It’s not just doctors and nurses, but respiratory therapists, lab techs, food service workers, housekeeping and many others, even employees who handle finances and insurance, Norman said.

The organization has responded to the staffing difficulties with a hiring focus and shifting employees to places of greatest need.

It has been prioritizing essential surgeries and procedures over some kinds of electives to deal with the issue, Norman said.

But emergency rooms and the organization’s Q-Care walk-in clinics are strained. There have been complaints about long waits, but long waits are occurring all over the country, he said.

It’s important for people to restrict their visits to the emergency room to real emergencies.

“If you need medical attention, call your (primary care) doctor first,” Norman said.

The Q-care walk-in clinics have had to reduce hours, mainly due to staff catching COVID-19, Norman said.

One troublesome issue stems from similar short staffing at nursing homes, which has reduced the homes’ capacities, sometimes making transfers from the hospital impossible, according to Norman.

Penn Highlands has been working with the nursing homes to correct the problem.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.