vaccinated, only 50% of them have had their booster.”
And people at increased risk of severe COVID — the unvaccinated, elderly or the immune-compromised — should consider still wearing a mask and maintaining social distance as BA.2 spreads, Virk adds.
“On an individual level, I think people may still continue to make decisions for themselves,” Virk says. “Some days I wear a mask to go to the grocery store, and sometimes I don’t. It just depends on how crowded it is and those kind of things.”
Finally, there’s always the chance that another COVID variant will emerge that poses an even greater threat, the experts explan. Such a thing could completely turn over the card table.
RELATED: FDA Approves New Antibody Drug to Fight Omicron Variant
“A new variant could occur that might evade the protection of our current vaccines,” Schaffner shares. “If that happens, then Katie, bar the door, we’ll have to start over.”
“That is something that is a possibility, and we’ve got to be prepared for it,” Fauci said of another new COVID variant surfacing. “Remember, we’ve had variants that have come out of nowhere and surprised us. Delta did not originate in the United States. It originated in India. Omicron originated in southern Africa.
“As long as there’s a lot of viral dynamics throughout the world, there’s always a risk of a variant emerging that’s very different from what we’ve experienced now,” Fauci continues. “Although we’re all pleased that we’re heading in the right direction and that we continue to have a diminution in cases and in hospitalizations and deaths, we can’t be overconfident. We must be prepared for the eventuality of having another variant.”