COVID less of a threat in region, according to Onalaska Mayo doctor

This month marks three years since COVID-19 was declared an epidemic in America. A family physician at Mayo in Onalaska says COVID levels seem to have stayed low in the region this winter.

Dr. Ben Dilger told WIZM’s La Crosse Talk that the virus seems to be much less of a threat than before, and might be soon be considered a seasonal illness.

“We’re starting to reach a point where we’ve got a fair amount of immunity in the community, which is gonna help prevent spikes,” Dilger said, “unless there’s some new variant that pops up and makes its way over to the United States.”

He added that more people are willing to get the new COVID booster, which he calls “extremely effective.”

Dilger said staffers at Mayo are continuing to wear face masks on duty most of the time, as a precaution against spreading illness.

“We’ve got people walking into our clinic that are on chemotherapy, that have had organ transplants, that are immuno-suppressed,” he said. “We see people who are sick every day, so to try and keep our patients safe, we wear masks all day, every day.”

Dilger said he doesn’t foresee an immediate end to the mask-wearing for staffers at the clinic.