The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that vaccinations and natural immunity acquired through infection, will eventually lead to “stabilization and normalization. This means that Covid-19 would not be eradicated completely but become “endemic” or regularly found among people similar to the flu.

While omicron has been contagious, it has been less disruptive than prior Covid-19 mutant strains such as the Delta variant, which has offered hope that future waves of infection would not require lockdowns. Omicron has however put a large strain on hospital systems. The federal government has offered free Covid-19 test kits and N95 masks to combat the surge. Self-reported Covid-19 cases have increased by over 25 percent to 57 million in the last few days of December through January 10, according to Bloomberg. Prior estimates by the CDC indicated an expected increase and peak in omicron infections in January and then stabilization. Vigilance and increased vaccination has been encouraged by the federal government and WHO to lower transmission and the development of further variants.