The omicron surge in UPMC communities and hospitals peaked about 10 days ago, and the numbers are declining rapidly, but the danger isn’t done, according to UPMC’s chief medical officer, speaking at a news conference Monday.

“The amount of activity in communities and hospitals is still fairly high — higher than it has been for most of the pandemic,” said Donald Yealy. “We’re clearly not out of the woods.”

The swift rise and fast receding of omicron in the UPMC territories matches the omicron experience in the nation and the world — and in South Africa, where the variant first became known, Yealy said.

Omicron seems less severe, but it’s more transmissible, and is still capable of causing harm here, especially to the unvaccinated, Yealy said.

More than 75% of the current patients with COVID-19 in UPMC hospitals are unvaccinated, and almost all the remaining 25% are immunocompromised, Yealy said.

Unvaccinated people under 60 who catch it are nine times more likely to need hospitalized than vaccinated people and 14 times more likely to die, Yealy said.

Those statistics “tell the story of the benefits of vaccination,” he said.

The hospitalized group has skewed younger than it did three to six months ago, he added.

While vaccination initially prevented infections — a point UPMC doctors previously emphasized — it is no longer a bulwark in that way, according to information presented at the news conference.

“The vaccine is there to ensure your body is best prepared if you have contact with the virus or you develop an infection,” Yealy said. “It’s not there to prevent infection, at least in individuals.”

Eventually, over time, a higher percentage of vaccinated people may help lower infection rates in society, he said.

“But that’s not the primary goal,” he said. “The (primary) goal is to get the immune system (of the individual) ready to fight off infection.”

For people who are immunocompromised, and who may not get the full benefit from the vaccines, there is Evusheld, a preventive medicine from AstraZeneca.

UPMC has been providing it from highly limited supplies, using a lottery system to choose recipients from among the most vulnerable patients in its system.

The drug provides two types of monoclonal antibodies, which gives passive immunity for months after an intramuscular injection.

In one recent case, the drug allowed an immunocompromised patient who has been treated for lymphoma to attend his daughter’s wedding, which would otherwise have been too dangerous for him, according to Stanley Marks, chairman of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

That patient had been vaccinated three times, but hadn’t developed antibodies, Marks said.

UPMC has administered about 1,000 shots of Evusheld so far.

It has been reaching out via automated phone calls to “Tier 1” patients who qualify, according to Tami Minnier, UPMC’s chief quality officer.

Those who press 1 as instructed will receive a follow up call a few days later from a UPMC employee looking to schedule an appointment at a location close to the patient’s home, Minnier said.

The drug is being administered in a variety of locations, including Altoona.

“I’ll hope you’ll press 1,” Minnier said for patients who receive the call.

The automated call will leave a message with a number to call for those who don’t press 1, she said.

If a patient receives a call, but doesn’t feel they’re ready, they might want to discuss the matter with their doctor, Minnier said.

The drug appears to be effective against omicron, according to Marks.

The drug has only been used for about three weeks, so that may not be definitive, but it’s certainly better than nothing, Yealy said.

The government is paying for Evusheld, so patients don’t need to pay for the medicine itself — although there’s generally a charge for administration of the drug, Minnier said. That’s a benefit in many health plans, although there may be a cost-sharing requirement, Minnier said.

About 90% of UPMC employees have been vaccinated so far, according to Yealy, noting that health care workers nationwide are under a vaccination mandate issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

There are multiple deadlines, the first of which was Jan. 28, Yealy said.

UPMC met that, he said.

The next deadline is Feb. 28, he said.

“We will comply,” he said.

UPMC has encouraged employee vaccinations through “engagement” and education, by making vaccines easily available and by working with individuals to relieve concerns, Yealy said.

“We may be finished with the pandemic because of our fatigue about it, but the pandemic is not finished with us,” he said.

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