The emergence of the mutated Omicron variant about two years after the outbreak of the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) greatly diminished the hopes of people around the world for the end of the epidemic and return to normal life.
Infectious disease experts have various opinions on what the outbreak will evolve into in 2022, CNN reported.
Some say they have seen the end of the epidemic, while others believe the sudden appearance of variants makes it difficult to predict what will happen in the future.
Some experts note that recent events in South Africa have fueled hopes that the outbreak will end.
South African scientists discovered the Omikron variant for the first time last November. Cases in the country peaked at that time and then decreased rapidly. Experts believe this will happen all over the world.
Usually, when a significant increase occurs suddenly in the number of infections that cause a disease, this is followed by a ‘silent period’.
“It will take us about mid-February to start seeing an improvement in the condition,” said Dr. John Schwartzberg, an infectious disease and vaccine expert at the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Schwartzberg said he believes that starting next March he will see a significant drop in cases around the world, adding, “There will be a sense of optimism this year, and then we will be able to do more in our lives.”
Part of Schwartzberg’s optimism is based on the fact that immunity will increase this year with more vaccines and supplement doses.
In his statement, the scientist also said:
“In general, after an Omicron wave, the immunity level in humans will be much higher than in previous waves, and this will help us to face any new variants.”
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at Stanford Medicine, said, “We really don’t know what might happen this year. But I’m waiting for another variant of the virus to appear. I’m not really sure what the future holds.”
“It’s not clear what’s next,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco. As with alpha and beta variants, the virus can gradually mutate or make a really big leap, as in Delta and Omikron.”
The next variant can be as contagious as Omikron or more. People may experience more severe symptoms or be asymptomatic.
All experts stressed the need for countries to take preventive measures to better address the virus and its variants, including focusing on protecting those exposed to serious symptoms of the virus, ensuring they get the vaccine and supporting vaccine companies.
