Scientists don’t yet know why omicron spreads so fast, but they have ideas. The first, explained Vineet Menachery, a microbiologist and immunologist who studies coronaviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch, is that some of the mutations in the spike protein allow the virus to escape existing immunity from vaccination or an infection. “It’s different enough that your antibodies don’t recognize it,” he said. That means the virus has a larger pool of people vulnerable to infection. How well do vaccines protect against omicron? “The data argues that if you’re vaccinated twice and boosted, that’s the highest level of protection that you can get,” Menachery said.

A COVID-19 vaccine that targets the omicron variant will be ready in March 2022. While it could be an important line of defense, some experts are unsure if the timing of distribution would match public needs. “Is this too late? When it’s established with the modified omicron vaccine, will the omicron [surge] be already over, peaked out? We don't know,” said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, distinguished chair in innovations in molecular biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Although omicron case rates are falling in some regions, a variant-specific vaccine wouldn’t be out of the question. Pfizer is manufacturing the new vaccine at risk since it has yet to be approved or authorized by health authorities, but the process is necessary, Shi said. “For pandemic preparedness, these exercises are definitely needed,” he said.

In the new year, the demand for vaccinations has ground to a near halt, said Dr. Philip Keiser, Galveston County’s local health authority. “We pretty much hit a wall a couple of weeks ago,” Keiser said Thursday. As of Wednesday, 198,475 people, about 58 percent of the county’s population, had received at least two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Of those, 75,951 had received booster doses.

Dr. Philip Keiser, chair of the UTMB COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force and Galveston County Health Authority, and Dr. Janak Patel, director of UTMB Infection Control and Healthcare Epidemiology, appeared on the Jan. 19 edition of Health Care Unmasked. Drs. Patel and Keiser addressed the latest information on the omicron variant during the hour-long Facebook Live interview.

The drive-through testing site will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the Galveston County Health District, 9850 Emmett F. Lowry Expressway. Appointments are required for the tests, which will be administered and processed through the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Sexually transmitted diseases hit another record high in the United States and among them are chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, increasing for the fifth straight year. In their regular Medical Discovery News column, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel report that in 2018, there were nearly 2.5 million cases, the highest combined number ever documented. The pandemic is also likely leading people to delay or skip STD testing and treatment, so some may never know they have a gonorrhea infection.

People who have violent relationships as teens are more likely to have them as adults, an article in the Australian online magazine explained. Dr. Jeff Temple, an expert on teen dating violence at the University of Texas Medical Branch, studies teaching youth about building healthy relationships in a school-based program. In the program, students build relationship skills through role playing. “Practice is huge for when they get into that situation in real life,” Temple said. “What the research tells us is that kids who are able to resolve conflicts and manage their emotions are less likely to be in violent relationships later on.”

Few things strike fear into the hearts of new parents as does respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This is understandable as it’s the leading cause of hospitalization among infants in the United States. In the latest Vaccine Smarts column, Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explained how investigational vaccines target the RSV fusion protein that allows it to enter human cells, similar to the spike protein of COVID-19.

Drs. Victor Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina wrote about how lifelong learning is crucial to healthy aging. Keeping the mind and body active through activities that encourage curiosity, social and community involvement and personal growth promote a richer life. “The University of Texas Medical Branch is fortunate to have the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, led by the other doctor in the family, Michelle Sierpina, Ph.D., who has focused her efforts, scholarly activity and career on empowering healthy aging. It’s a place to go to prevent letting the old man in, or the old woman either.”