Bill Gates: Once Covid’s omicron variant passes, Covid will be more like the seasonal flu

Bill Gates sees hope in the future, but Covid is currently tearing through the U.S. and the rest of the world at a record-breaking pace.

Gates wrote on Tuesday that countries can expect to see far fewer cases through the rest of 2022, after the current surge abates. Gates said that Covid can be treated like seasonal flu once that happens.

The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist is not the first to make similar predictions. Some experts say that the rapid spread of omicron could help steer the Covid epidemic into a less severe phase.

Gates predicted that Omicron will create a lot of immunity, at least for the next year, in his Q&A. If enough of the country can maintain some level of simultaneous immunity against Covid, the virus' circulation could slow down long enough to transition to the endemic phase.

Gates said that once Covid becomes endemic, they may have to take yearly shots for it.

There were 1.5 million new Covid cases in the US on Monday, and a new record for hospitalizations. The current wave of omicron cases will peak by the end of January according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's top medical advisor. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that it expects a decline in cases once omicron passes.

Between now and then, Omicron is likely to wreak havoc on the U.S. health care system. Gates noted in his online conversation that unvaccinated people will continue to experience the most severe cases of Covid until omicron fades. He predicted that health systems will continue to be challenged by high transmissibility.

If the new Covid variant is more severe or transmissible than any other variant to date, Gates will be disappointed. The billionaire said that the scenario is not impossible.

Gates said that a more transmissive variant is not likely.

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