Omicron is the newest variant of the Covid-19 strain and it seems to be proliferating at a rapid rate. Proven to spread easier than the original SARS-CoV-2, the United States is reporting about 720,000 cases each day according to the New York Times. 

 

However, the quantity of hospitalized people who are infected has decreased by 26% from last year’s Delta surge, according to Reuters. 

 

Patients report having flu-like symptoms when infected with the Omicron variant, compared to last year's Delta patients who had respiratory issues and required ventilators to maintain their lives. Many people believe this strain is the transition period out of the pandemic and back into our prior, virus-free lives. 

 

Nevertheless, professionals such as Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, caution society that we still must stay safe. “It’s important for people to not be like, ‘Oh, it’s over,’” Gordon claims. 

 

If people are overconfident in the evolution of this pandemic, that could lead to further outbreaks and contribute to our incessant cycle of advanced COVID strains. 

 

As of now, the CDC claims our best virus resistance is vaccines with consistent booster doses, constant testing if any symptoms are present, and wearing masks in public. 

 

“We need to be super vigilant,” Judith Persichilli, the health commissioner in New Jersey. 

 

The Omicron variant is very aggressive in how it escalates, and we need to stay aware in order to come out of this pandemic on the other side.