Why you shouldn't just 'get COVID over with' - CNET

As the omicron variant continues to make its way through cities, causing breakthrough infections in the fully vaccinated and some reinfections in people who've already had COVID, it may start to feel as if everyone's getting sick.

First, he said, though your risk of severe COVID is now rare if you're vaccinated and boosted, some vaccinated people have had serious cases.

Secondly, vaccinated people can still spread the virus, Beyrer said, which puts others at risk who didn't choose to be sick.

Though the odds are low for anyone in this group getting really sick, Beyrer said, on average one of them will develop long COVID.

"With a virus as infectious as omicron, these infections can propagate widely," Beyrer said.

Another thing to note is that COVID-19 isn't a "one and done" disease for everyone, and many people are battling it a second time after getting sick earlier in the pandemic.

The need to "flatten the curve" of people getting sick with COVID-19 in order to preserve hospital capacity for those who do end up very sick is just as strong now as it was in spring of 2020. .

"We are already seeing the cost to the health care system and to health workers," Beyrer said?

And in addition to an increase of COVID-19 patients, more people getting sick means more health care workers who are sick.

But whether COVID-19 will stop being a pandemic depends on a few factors, including whether vaccine and boosting rates go up, a vaccine for children under age 5 is found and omicron is the last variant of concern, he said

"That assumes no other variants emerge as omicron is declining," Beyrer said

Instead, people should focus on their mental health, Beyrer said