After omicron, what's next?
Long Island doctors predict COVID-19's path
Cars line up for COVID-19 testing administered by Baseline Health at Cathedral Pines County Park on Tuesday. Credit: Randee Daddona
Experts agree that factors like variants and vaccination rates make it impossible to know which path the pandemic will take. Still, they foresee a time when most people can attend a crowded concert or sports game without overly worrying about getting seriously ill.
Meanwhile, the need for precautions like mask-wearing may wax and wane depending on how the virus evolves, local experts tell Newsday's David Olson.
"Assuming there is no new variant that changes the trajectory of this pandemic, then I think we can have a reasonable expectation that we will be back to a reasonable life" after the omicron spike, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology for Northwell Health. "Even though COVID will be in the background, it won’t be the center of every aspect of every part of our life."
Greater uptake of boosters may help reach that point earlier, likely within the next several weeks, Farber said.
Dr. Aaron Glatt, chairman of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, said omicron’s high level of contagiousness "may be a blessing in disguise." It’s better that omicron, which tends to cause milder illness than previous variants, is so dominant rather than a more virulent strain, like delta or one that has yet to emerge, he said.
"It’s going to be hard for another virus to overtake it," Glatt said.
Plus: Check our updated guides for where to look if you need a booster shot or a COVID-19 test.
The number of new positives reported today: 3,767 in Nassau, 3,286 in Suffolk, 32,236 in New York City and 54,749 statewide.
This chart shows the number of new daily coronavirus cases reported in Nassau and Suffolk counties in recent days.
See more charts, plus searchable maps of vaccination rates and new cases in communities, on our data page.
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Erin Serpico is an assistant web producer who joined Newsday in November 2018. Originally from New Jersey, she now covers community events and produces local content for newsday.com while also helping run the homepage.
