NEW ORLEANS — With Santa coming to town, many local families were preparing for his arrival Tuesday by getting Covid-ready amid an increasing number of infections and surge in the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Pharmacies and health clinics throughout the area reported full appointment calendars and even some lines for shots, boosters and, especially, Covid-19 tests.
Jennifer Baudy brought her parents and her three kids to the Mahalia Jackson Auditorium in New Orleans, where the National Guard was helping deliver both tests and vaccines.
“We have that on our mind and we definitely want to be as safe as we possibly can while having some semblance of a normal Christmas celebration,” Baudy said. “Watching those numbers and seeing things happen it's great to have testing sites like this available.”
Glendora Stelly came for a test before a long-awaited get-together with friends.
“I'm fully vaccinated and boosted, and so is everybody who's going to the party, so I feel like we're all going to be safe,” Stelly said. “But then the Omicron comes along and there's just no telling.”
Demand for tests far outpaced demand for shots at Mahalia Jackson, with a line of cars wrapped around the building for the tests, while the vaccine tent was wide open.
But at City Park, a “Shots for Santa” event hosted by the Louisiana Department of Health was doing brisk business giving vaccines to youngsters from ages 5 to 11.
Goenysa Carbajal brought her 8-year-old son Elijah for his first shot. While some other kids winced or cried, Elijah took his jab without flinching.
“I wanted to get the shot,” Elijah said, “to not get Covid.”
“I thought he was a good example to all the other children,” his mom said. “Very brave. Took it better than me.”
With Christmas right around the corner, health care providers say now is the time to get that pre-holiday protection, along with some peace of mind.