PHOENIX — Editor's Note: The video above is from an earlier newscast.
As families begin to spend time with each other over the holiday season, one Valley doctor is preparing for a potential wave of new COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks.
Dr. Andrew Carroll said the highly-contagious nature of the omicron variant is causing some concern in the medical community and some are planning for a post-holiday surge in sick patients.
"Over the next week or two, we expect that we're going to start to see people with symptoms and are going to need to be tested for COVID-19," Carroll said Friday.
Arizona has already begun to detect its first omicron cases and the state's hospital officials have voiced fears that medical staff will have to start rationing care at some point. As of Thursday, Arizona reported having 2,440 patients hospitalized due to the virus.
The best method of protection against the virus continues to be immunization, Carroll said, and residents should take steps to ensure they didn't spend the holiday around relatives or friends who may be been carrying the virus.
Carroll said the immunized patients who have contracted omicron seem to exhibit milder symptoms compared to non-vaccinated patients.
"This thing is going to spread like wildfire, particularly it's going to be spreading among those who are unimmunized," Carroll said about the variant.
Even before the Christmas break, Carroll said he noticed a rise in patients needing to get tested and a prevalent rate in positive cases.
"We've been seeing more and more positivity in our office," he said on Friday. "We're testing people and they're ending up being positive."
For those needing to get tested after returning home from the holiday break, Carroll said Embry's Women Health offers several testing sites and is a great resource for getting quick results. Urgent care centers, CVS, and Walgreens locations are also continuing to offer tests, he added.
Carroll said he's hopeful Arizona and the nation could be in a better position next Christmas by achieving greater herd immunity.
"Perhaps we'll be in a different situation next holiday season, where everyone can celebrate and not have to worry so much," he said.
Carroll said that if you're feeling sick, it's always best to go see your doctor especially because they can treat the flu within 48 hours if you've come down with it.
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