Modeling by the Mayo Clinic predicts this current surge in COVID cases will peak before the end of January. Public health experts like Texas A&M’s Dr. Gerald Parker say we can expect some relief soon, but he warns that we cannot let our guard down. There have been several COVID variants, and we can expect another one to come on the heels of Omicron. And there is continued pressure on health care systems. Hospitalizations have reached a new high, averaging more than 158,000 each day.