(Michigan City, IN) - A local medical expert believes life as we knew it before COVID-19 could get back to normal in just a few months.

 

Dr. Vidya Kora said it had been nearly a month since he’s had a new patient with COVID-19 and the number of cases is down significantly at Franciscan Health outside Michigan City.  He said the number of cases is also down dramatically in the assisted living facilities in the area.

 

Kora said people taking the virus more seriously has helped, but the vaccine is the biggest factor in the improvement in recent weeks.  "Vaccines have made a huge impact. A huge impact.  In my own practice, I have not seen a positive COVID patient for almost a month now. I used to always have COVID patients in the office, in the hospital, but the numbers have gone down substantially,” he said.

 

Kora said variants of the virus that have emerged in countries like South Africa are a concern. Still, there’s evidence current vaccines, along with new ones being developed, are very effective against the new versions of the virus.

 

"Moderna is saying that they are coming up with vaccines to cover the variants.  Even the current vaccine has a significant impact on the variants. I think the science will control this situation, and I'm very, very optimistic that by this summer, our lives will be in a much place than we were last year,” he said.

 

COVID-19 cases are also noticeably down throughout the state and nation.