On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that New York City has been experiencing an omicron infection surge. However, he believes the wave will peak within a few weeks.

It will be difficult for the next few weeks. However, the good news comes from what our healthcare leadership understands. At this point, we are only talking about weeks,” De Blasio said to the public in a Covid update Monday.

The average daily case count for New York City increased more than twice in the week ended Friday, December 17th according to the most recent data on the city. health department website. New York reports an average seven-day rate of over 7,200 cases per hour, an increase of 127% from the previous week, which was around 3,200.

De Blasio stated that people with the omicron variant in New York have only experienced mild symptoms. However, he said there are many questions still unanswered and scientists continue to research how seriously sick individuals can get.

De Blasio stated that there will be a rapid upsurge of cases and many New Yorkers who are affected by the omicron. According to everything that we’ve witnessed, so far the cases have been milder than anything we’ve ever seen.

Experts in infectious diseases, including epidemiologists, warn that even though the omicron strain is less severe than the dominant delta type, there could be a spike in hospitalizations or deaths due to its rapid spread, which can put pressure on health care systems.

De Blasio highlighted the importance of vaccinations to prevent omicron. According to the mayor, his vaccination mandate for private business is essential in order to avoid shutdowns that decimated New York City’s economic system in 2020.

De Blasio stated, “We have to defeat Omicron. We got to avoid shutting downs. Nearly 80 percent of New York City residents received at minimum one dose of vaccines, and 71% are completely vaccinated.

De Blasio indicated that his administration was working together with the White House as well as the private sector in order to resolve the shortage of pharmacy-at-home test kits. For a total of 112 locations, the mayor announced that 23 more city-run testing sites will open this week.

De Blasio stated that the supply problems are becoming more difficult as testing across the country is increasing rapidly.

The World Health Organization has stated that omicron can be more deadly than any other variant of Covid-19. According to Dr. Rochelle Walensky of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), omicron is responsible for 13% of New York and New Jersey cases. According to the CDC, Omicron accounted in part for 3% of all U.S. Covid patients.

Omicron has significantly decreased the efficacy of two dose vaccines to prevent infection. But, booster shots significantly increase protection from the variant. Based on a study by the U.K. Health Security Agency (HSA), a third dose of BioNTech or Pfizer vaccine can provide 70% protection from symptomatic diseases.

According to data from Discovery Health, South Africa’s biggest health insurance company, the original two-dose vaccine series offers 33% immunity against infection but provides 70% protection against hospitalization.