The Heat: Omicron cases begin to fall in the U.S.

The Heat

Mike Walter

Mike Walter

Medical workers fill a hallway in the acute care unit, where about half the patients are COVID-19 positive or in quarantine after exposure, of Harborview Medical Center, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, in Seattle. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is deploying 100 members of the state National Guard to hospitals across the state amid staff shortages due to an omicron-fueled spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Inslee announced Thursday that teams will be deployed to assist four overcrowded emergency departments at hospitals in Everett, Yakima, Wenatchee and Spokane, and that testing teams will be based at hospitals in Olympia, Richland, Seattle and Tacoma. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Published January 25, 2022 at 10:48 AM
Updated January 25, 2022 at 11:01 AM

New COVID-19 cases are starting to fall in the United States, signaling the highly-contagious Omicron variant is beginning to recede.

Several states in the Northeast and upper Midwest are seeing cases peak and begin to decline sharply.

At the same time, hospitals in North Carolina, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

The U.S. is averaging more than 700,000 new cases a day, an increase of 8% over the last two weeks. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. top infectious diseases expert, gave his assessment for what’s ahead in the coming weeks.

Joining the discussion:

  • Dr. Carlos del Rio is the Executive Associate Dean at Emory University’s School of Medicine & Grady Health System.
  • Jennifer Steele is an associate professor with the School of Education at American University.
  • Dr. Kate Tulenko is the CEO and Founder of Corvus Health.
  • Dr. Gary Morsch is the President and Founder of COVID Care Force.

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