top experts break down exactly why people should still try to avoid getting Omicron

‘I have no intention of getting infected’: understanding Omicron’s severity Experts on whether getting Covid is inevitable and why, despite claims of ‘mildness’, the variant is highly dangerous ‘Omicron’s breaking the backs of the healthcare system,’ says Eric Topol. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA Leaders in the US have struck a pessimistic tone about the Covid-19 pandemic in recent weeks amid rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, recently testified before Congress that “most people are going to YahooNews

Leaders in the US have struck a pessimistic tone about the Covid-19 pandemic in recent weeks amid rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, recently testified before Congress that “most people are going to get Covid”. Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to Joe Biden, has also said that Omicron “​​will ultimately find just about everybody” in terms of exposure, though vaccines make an important difference in who develops the illness.

But Covid-19 is still a very serious disease with unknown outcomes, even for the less severe Omicron variant.

Here top experts break down exactly why people should still try to avoid getting Covid-19 – especially in the next few weeks and months, as hospitals see unprecedented strain and effective early treatments are appearing on the horizon.

Am I just going to get Covid no matter what I do?

“That’s not true,” said Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I don’t plan on getting infected with Omicron. I’m vaccinated; because I’m over 65, I’m boosted. I wear a mask whenever I’m in public and indoors around people I don’t know. And I have no intentions of being infected with this virus.”

Related: As Covid-19 peak seems to near, experts warn against letting guard down

While the more transmissible Omicron variant is infecting more people than ever before, taking proven precautions can still prevent it: getting vaccinated and boosted, wearing high-quality masks, improving ventilation and avoiding crowds indoors.

Should I just get it and get it over with?

Planning to get Omicron in order to gain some immunity or get it over with is a terrible idea, said Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research. “This is a real-deal virus where there’s unpredictability,” he said. “Some people can get very sick. Some people can get long Covid. Some people unwittingly will then get immunocompromised people sick”, leading to hospitalization and death. ...