WASHINGTON - The country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicted Sunday that COVID-19 cases induced by the omicron variant will peak next month.Fauci said he was "as confident as you can be" that states will hit their highest point of infections in February to ABC News’ "This Week." However, he noted cases should start dropping off after that, as seen in other countries, but that the virus is still unpredictable. "You never want to be overconfident when you're dealing with this virus," he said. "Things are looking good.
We don't want to get overconfident, but they look like they're going in the right direction right now."RELATED: Fauci: 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose too ‘premature’ to discussBut he also said areas with low vaccination rates may still have an uphill battle.A new, wearable device may help alert you if you are exposed to COVID-19.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health developed an easy-to-clip-on device that can help detect low levels of SARS-COV-2 and subsequently whether a person has been exposed."There may be a bit more pain and suffering with hospitalizations in those areas of the country that have not been fully vaccinated or have not gotten boosters," he added.Fauci also expressed hope that the U.S.
will get the virus under control. "Control means you're not eliminating it, you're not eradicating it, but it gets down to such a low level, that it's essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with," he continued. "We'd like it to get down to that level where it doesn't disrupt us in the sense of getting back to a degree of normality.