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US health experts have warned that the peak of Omicron infections in the US is likely still to come, in spite of earlier estimates. The New York Times reported that the US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will continue to spread, peaking sometime in the next few weeks. He delivered his words during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. Murthy said the virus will peak in different places at different times due to the size of the United States. He said, “We shouldn’t expect a national peak in the coming days”. The surgeon general said that cases in the Northeast, particularly in New York and New Jersey, appear to be plateauing and will likely soon start to drop.

However, some US states are starting to see some respite from the virus and others are likely on the precipice of a dark few weeks of infection and death. Dr. Murthy said the next several weeks would be difficult for people in many parts of the country, particularly as hospital staff continues to battle overcrowding, under-staffing, and overall burnout from the pandemic. He said, “The next few weeks will be tough”. Hospitals across the US are already reporting bed shortages, and health experts fear those shortages will only get worse as the virus continues to spread over the next several weeks. The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Quentin Lucas informed a news outlet that hospitals in the city have been at capacity since the holiday season started.

Lucas said, “We have seen incredible challenges in our health care network, even getting employees that are working in our EMS services, fire department and in public safety. It is a substantial concern”. Americans were encouraged to go get tested if they feared they had been infected, but ongoing supply chain issues caused in part by the pandemic made it difficult to find tests and made those that were prohibitively expensive in some cases. In response to the shortage, Joe Biden announced his administration planned to distribute a billion rapid-at-home tests to American families who request them. Each household is entitled to claim up to four free tests, which will be delivered to their homes. The administration also passed legislation requiring health insurance companies to cover up to eight at-home tests each month for their customers.