Scientists caution that Omicron's whirlwind was an advance warning that practically ensures it won't be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world.
Every infection gives the virus a chance to mutate, and Omicron has an advantage over the previous variants of being more contagious even vaccines have been developed previously.
According to an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University, Leonardo Martinez, there are more opportunities for virus mutation "potentially leading to more variants" as Omicron spreads faster.
For the week of January 3-9, the World Health Organization reported a record 15 million new COVID-19 cases, up 55% from the previous week, as per AP News report.
Scientists warn on next COVID-19 strains
It is not yet clear for scientists how the next COVID-19 strains will look and how they will drive the pandemic. However, there is no certainty that the post-Omicron variants would be milder or that current vaccines could protect us from them.
Studies say that Omicron is less severe than the previously dominant Delta variant. As a result, many experts are optimistic that it could be the beginning of a trend that will make COVID-19 more like a typical cold. But when new variants of the virus emerge, scientists say it's still difficult to anticipate which ones will take off based on genetic characteristics.
Health experts recommend the continued implementation of public health measures like wearing masks and inoculation. Furthermore, experts say that vaccines provide protection and booster shots significantly bring down hospitalizations, severe conditions, and deaths among infected individuals.
Read Also: COVID-19 Around the World: How Different Countries Are Dealing With Omicron Surge in January 2022
Omicron Should Be Taken Seriously
Meanwhile, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health advised the public not to loosen its guard against Omicron.
According to Dr. Shaun Truelove, while Omicron's symptoms feel like flu or the common cold, its transmission rate is very high, and it is better at evading existing antibodies. This feature of the latest COVID-19 variant is why many hospitals across the US are now in full capacity.
"Even if it's same severity [of symptoms], it produces - in terms of numbers - way more hospitalizations and deaths, I think people keep missing that point," the expert said, as per CNBC.
Furthermore, Omicron is still a kind of Covid-19. Despite exhibiting mild symptoms or even being asymptomatic, catching it poses a risk for the virus to infect other individuals. The further it spreads, especially among unvaccinated individuals, the possibility for the virus to mutate into a stronger variety increases.
Pandemic Will Remain If Vaccination Numbers Remain Low
COVID-19 will not become endemic anytime soon, according to experts, as long as worldwide immunization rates remain low.
Earlier, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that protecting populations from upcoming variants of COVID-19, which includes those that current vaccines are effective against, relies on ending the inequity in the distribution of vaccines among rich and developing countries, as per US News.
For now, the world needs to stay vigilant as new variants are inevitable, according to Louis Mansky, director of the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Minnesota.
"The virus is still kind of in control of what's going on, " he said, as many people are still unvaccinated.
