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THE END OF THE PANDEMIC?
THE END OF THE PANDEMIC?
Omicron is making waves across the world- but there's still room for hope
January 28, 2021
By this time, you know the routine. A new variant of COVID-19 has emerged and is spreading across the world. Just like its predecessor Delta, Omicron stands to cause big problems, largely by overwhelming hospitals. But where did Omicron come from- and what does it mean for the future of the pandemic?
After being identified in southern Africa in Nov. 2021, Omicron spread around the world. Within a month, it was dominant in the U.S. This variant has a large number of mutations, including a more aggressive transmission rate.
But it's not all bad news- there's still room to hope that normality could return. The European Medicines Agency says that, because Omicron causes less severe illness than other variants, its spread is pushing COVID-19 to shift from pandemic (the spread of a disease across an entire country or the world) to endemic (the constant presence of a disease in a certain area) status.
Endemic diseases like the flu are diseases that humanity just has to live with. Endemic does not mean the COVID-19 will disappear, but the amount of cases will be controlled and people will build an immunity, concluding to lower numbers of cases and less transmission. It's far too early to classify COVID-19 as endemic right now, but medical experts agree that it will become endemic in the future. As a result of Omicron, this timetable may have moved up, because preliminary research shows that Omicron cases, while being more contagious, are less severe.
However, Omicron is still wreaking havoc in one place- the hospital. Even if cases are less severe, they're still so numerous that they're overwhelming hospitals' capacity to take care of other patients. For instance, Holmes Regional Medical Center receives about 89 adult COVID patients a week. The influx of COVID patients leaves less room for others, meaning that despite the mildness of the illness itself, hospitals are still operating under heavy strain.
But although hospitals may be overwhelmed, schools are experiencing milder COVID cases causing students to be out of school for less time. As a result, some positive changes in Brevard schools are quickly emerging. For example, on a county level, schools no longer conduct contact tracing. Now, everyone in the classroom with a positive COVID-19 case receives an information note, but they have no obligation to quarantine. These changes could spell a return to normal in the near future, even as Omicron cases rise.
In the mid-pandemic state that we live in, changes are constant. But the newest change does leave room for hope. Omicron's less severe nature could indicate a future in which COVID-19 is as ubiquitous as the flu, and as manageable. After two years of pandemic living, it can be hard to imagine a world in which COVID-19 isn't always in mind. But who knows? With this latest change, maybe we're truly approaching a return to normal.
This is Twisha’s first year on the Edge staff and second year at Edgewood. She enjoys creating art, reading, and playing sports. As a staff writer, she hopes to write interesting and fun stories and learn more about journalism.
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