What We Can Expect From COVID in 2022
Written by Leslie K. Hughes
Medically reviewed by Dr. Ariella Morrow
New year, same pandemic we’ve been dealing with for two years now. However, the virus and the way it’s handled have changed over the last couple of years and we think that more changes will occur on both fronts in 2022.
Let’s take a look at what we can expect to see with COVID-19 in 2022.
2020 marked the first year society as a whole knew about the existence of the COVID-19 virus and it sent everyone into a panic. It felt as if the entire world was shut down and we were all told to stay indoors and away from people that we weren’t living with.
2021 marked the year the vaccine was rolled out and society felt like it was returning to some semblance of normality, though that idea of “normal” was not exactly a return to the way things were pre-COVID.
And now 2022 is starting with the Omicron COVID variant sweeping the world by storm. The United States recently reached a new high of nearly 1 million average new daily cases of Omicron. Though this variant is spreading much quicker than any of the previous variants, studies are showing that Omicron may be less severe than Delta.
So what will be different in 2022 about COVID? Let’s take a look.
Antiviral Medications
Some doctors are projecting that antiviral medications will be the next big step for COVID. These oral medications were introduced in 2021, but are expected to see more widespread use in the coming year. In December 2021, the FDA authorized the emergency use of Pfizer’s Paxlovid to aid in the treatment of mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 for those who are high-risk cases. However, more studies need to be done to ensure the safety of this antiviral medication along with others, as mixing them with other medications may be an issue. This is something that is expected to happen this year so that the use of these medications becomes safer and can serve as a tool to fight this virus.
We are hoping that with the more widespread use of medications such as this, that hospitalizations and deaths will go down, and that COVID will make the shift from being a severe illness to something more low-key like a cold.
Testing at Home
Convenient testing is another thing we expect to see more of in 2022. With more rapidly-spreading variants such as Omicron, people are finding themselves more comfortable getting tested without having to leave the couch. Thanks to Sameday Health’s house call services, you can get tested quickly and easily in the comfort of your own home. All you’ve got to do is schedule a time online and a Sameday health practitioner will be on his/her way to your home to get you tested and get your results in no time.
More Variants
This is not the news anyone wants to hear, but sometimes the truth hurts. 2022 will bring with it more COVID variants. As the virus continues to spread, new variants will emerge. Though the most transmissible variant will be the one that dominates the world at any given time, we are likely to continue seeing less dangerous variants that are more transmissible.
However, there is good news. By continuing to use resources and tools to reduce the spread (regular testing, vaccines, boosters, masks, and more), there is hope that the virus will lessen in severity to the point of being, as mentioned above, similar to the common cold.
Mask Technologies
It seems as if masks aren’t going away anytime soon. Rather, they are advancing. It is likely that in 2022 we will see masks being treated less as a “temporary solution” and more as a “part of our staple accessories,” as discussed in the medical journal, Research.
With masks becoming more of a staple in everyday life, people are likely to invest in more sophisticated, reusable masks such as this prototype that may have the ability to “diagnose the wearer with COVID-19 within about 90 minutes.” We are expecting to see a huge surge in the mask industry this year with options that are more environmentally friendly and provide better everyday protection.
Changes to Quarantine Guidelines
We have already seen some changes to the original 10-day quarantine guidelines put in place by the CDC when COVID hit the scene. Now, the CDC says that “people with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.”
It is expected that these changes will continue to occur as additional variants emerge. Some variants may evolve to behave differently, so it is important that as the virus “behavior” evolves, we pay attention to the public health guidelines outlined by the CDC.
Ideally, guidelines would be driven by and tailored to each patient so that we can safely minimize the time and days people spend in isolation or quarantine responsibly. We should not let people out of quarantine early, but we also shouldn’t be keeping them in quarantine longer than they need to. And with how far medicine and science have come, this could be a possibility in the coming year.
