JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) - As omicron cases continue to remain high, there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes an increase in cases.
Dr. Eric Yazel with Clark County Health Department said based on how quickly other countries are seeing the omicron variant quickly subside, the U.S. will not be far behind.
Some states have already seen a nearly 50% drop in COVID cases in the last week.
“If we can weather this bumpy ride for another week or so, I think we'll see some improvement,” Yazel said. “I think we're looking at 7-10 more days of some pretty rough numbers and then yeah, I think, again, this is totally my opinion, but I think we will see a rapid decline just like some other locations.”
As of Sunday, Indiana and Kentucky both had positivity rates of 28%. The omicron variant has become the dominate strain of COVID-19, with cold-like symptoms much less severe than the delta variant.
Starting Wednesday, Americans can sign up for free at-home test kids, with 500 million expected to be sent out in the next two weeks.
Yazel says when it comes to Omicron, the tests should have been sent out weeks ago.
“Probably can reasonably assume there will be another variant coming through at some point and we'll be well positioned at that time but yeah, I am not sure that we are going hit the mark this time - I think a lot of the supply is going to come in right as we start to decline,” said Yazel.
He suggests not getting tested if you’re not feeling sick, in order to save tests for those who actually need them – including in the hospitals.
In the meantime, with talks of possible additional boosters as soon as March, Yazel said “vaccine fatigue” is starting to hit Americans — but the shots have done their job.
“I have yet to admit a boosted case to the hospital that has been critically ill, so it's doing its job,” Yazel said.
As hospitalizations in Indiana remain high with each variant, Yazel says viruses tend to get weaker as immune systems get stronger. As of Thursday, over 3,500 Indiana residents were hospitalized with COVID, according to the state's dashboard.
He does expect other variants to pop up, but as the world enters the third year of the pandemic, it’s now being battled in an evolving way.
“Here are the tools you need to protect yourself and otherwise we are going to try to keep it business as usual as these waves come through,” Yazel said.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
