VIRGINIA, USA — While there are still many unknowns about the omicron variant, health experts say contact tracing will serve as an important key in helping solve some of those questions.
Contact tracing -- the process of tracking possible exposures from COVID cases -- is not a new tool.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, more than $1 billion in federal funding was allocated to the state of Virginia to help navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately $270 million of that share going specifically to contact tracing efforts, like the hiring of contact tracers and case investigators.
Seth Levine, a senior epidemiologist who works closely with the state's case investigation and contact tracing efforts, said that the state has held a sustained push to add contact tracing staff since the end of the summer.
“At its height, around 1,500 case investigators and contact tracers hired contractually. They are housed at the local health departments," Levin said, adding that a recent batch of hiring added approximately 200 of these positions.
Levin says current numbers-- as the number of omicron cases continues to rise nationally-- are about the same as the state's peak.
“In times like now, where if we're seeing a steady number of cases coming in, people are likely to get a call if they’ve been potentially exposed," VDH epidemiologist Dr. Brandy Darby said. "With huge surges, like last holiday season, we don’t have the capacity to keep up with that.”
While contact tracing is always an important tool in slowing the spread, Darby added that gaining early information from new variants like omicron is critical when determining the strain's transmissibility, severity and vaccine efficacy.
“The CDC asked VDH and other states to collect really good information about these first cases," Darby said.
Levine added that contact tracers investigate between 5-10 COVID cases per day.
If you test positive for COVID-19 but haven’t been directly contacted by the VDH, health experts say it's still important to contact people who may have been possibly exposed.