COVID-19 Possibly Endemic In 2022, But New Variants Keep WI Experts Guessing

WISCONSIN — Steady transmission of COVID-19 due to the omicron variant is likely to continue in Wisconsin through 2022, but new variants could bring unpredictable spikes in the future, Wisconsin's chief medical officer, Dr. Ryan Westergaard, said at a news conference.

Health experts hope to see a continuing decline in cases from the "extraordinarily high peak" last seen in January, Westergaard said. It's likely that coronavirus cases brought by the omicron variant will become "endemic" this year, meaning the disease will be constantly present, he added.

"But the thing is we can't predict is that there will be additional variants in the future that will change from a steady state to a spike we haven't seen before," Westergaard said. "The defense against that is to try and maximize vaccination globally and try to prevent diseases where we find them, but that's what viruses do, they tend to evolve."

However, there's a chance COVID-19 might stay an epidemic virus because of how rapidly it spreads, increasing numbers over periods of days to weeks, Raina McIntyre, a biosecurity professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told CNBC. An endemic disease can occur in very large numbers, but with coronavirus, the number of cases change rapidly.

Wisconsin COVID-19 cases have declined in recent days, with 4,781 new cases reported on Wednesday, data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services showed. The seven-day average for new cases was 4,679 new cases per day.

In Milwaukee County, there were 2,259 cases reported Sunday, compared to 3,693 on the week of Jan. 23, according to data from Greenfield Health Department health officer Darren Rausch.

Hospitalizations from the coronavirus were at 1,387 on Thursday, data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association showed. Hospitalizations among Milwaukee County adults were steady: 862 hospitalizations as of Sunday and 859 the week of Jan. 23, Rauch's data showed.

Cases in Wisconsin peaked at 15,548 new cases on Jan. 19, state health services data showed. Hospitalizations peaked at 2,278 patients on Jan. 12, hospital association data showed.

Health experts agree that getting vaccinated is the best way to fight the severe effects of the coronavirus and its spread in Wisconsin communities.

Vaccination rates where residents have received one dose in the Milwaukee metro was 56.5 percent, compared to the state of Wisconsin where 63.4 percent of residents have received at least one shot.

The best way that local governments and people can encourage others to get vaccinated is to use messaging from primary care providers and physicians, Westergaard said.

"We've saved thousands, if not millions of lives working across the country using vaccination efforts we've had," Westergaard said. The state's primary goal will be to promote vaccination and make them more accessible, he added.

Related: Milwaukee Offers $100 Gift Cards For First COVID-19 Vaccinations