After omicron, will the pandemic finally be over?

The omicron surge continues to drive up new COVID case counts, hospitalizations and deaths in New Jersey, but the wave of infections is expected to peak in the next three to four weeks and then decline sharply.

But what happens after that?

According to Dr. Annette Reboli, an infectious disease expert and dean of Rowan University’s Cooper School of Medicine, we are rapidly moving into a phase of the pandemic where “we will have more adaptation, we will learn to adapt and live with it. “

She said that even if omicron fades the way we hope and hope, it won’t mean we’re clean.

the new reality

“I don’t think any of us have a crystal ball, but I think most people would not be surprised if we hear another variant emerge,” he said.

She said that a new variant can emerge suddenly and pose a minor or major threat because this is the nature of viruses.

“One thing that is very true of them is that they mutate, they change very, very quickly,” he said.

New treatments

Reboli said that researchers are working hard right now to try to develop a type of broad-spectrum COVID vaccine that is highly effective against multiple types of variants.

“That would be a great advance in our vaccine arsenal. Hopefully, that will materialize in the not too distant future, ”he said.

“The mRNA platform for these vaccines is very, very easy to manipulate and produce new vaccines in a short time,” he said.

Reboli said that if different forms of COVID are detected in the future, we could also see a variety of vaccines being produced and “people will receive a dose of the vaccine based on the predictions of what is circulating or what is known to be circulating similar to flu vaccines. . “

Meanwhile, anti-COVID pills developed by Pfizer and Merck could also be available soon.

“Your use will probably occur in the event that you start to have symptoms, do a quick test, contact your doctor, and then your doctor can prescribe a course of oral therapy, and keep you out of the hospital.” she said.

An ongoing battle

Regardless of the new advances that are made, he said that we must remember that “viruses are intelligent and have the ability to evade vaccines. I think we’re seeing some of that now. “

Current vaccines do a very good job of preventing serious illnesses from the omicron variant, but many fully vaccinated people contracted the virus because it is so contagious.

She said the bottom line is that COVID remains a very serious threat “but I am confident in science and the extraordinary work that is being done to mitigate this on all fronts.”

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com.