By Dave Goldiner From New York Daily News Dr. Anthony Fauci said the new year is bringing bad news as the highly transmissible omicron variant powers a “vertical spike” in COVID-19 cases. But even as omicron drives the worst caseloads of the entire pandemic, Fauci believes the wave could peak quickly. “Cases are not going up gradually, they are going straight up,” Fauci told WPIX TV on Monday. “What we are hoping is you reach a peak and the cases come down rather quickly.” The meteoric rise and fall in omicron cases is what doctors experienced in South Africa, where the new strain was first identified in late November. Despite being much more contagious, omicron appears to cause less serious disease for the vaccinated than previous strains of COVID-19. And those who survive it will have some refreshed protection from other forms of the virus that are circulating. That’s a …