OMICRON VARIANT IS ‘RAGING AROUND THE WORLD’, DR. FAUCI WARNS

Mon 20 December 2021:

Top US pandemic adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is “raging around the world,” will put severe strain on hospital systems in the coming weeks.

Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there is no doubt about the omicron variant’s “extraordinary capability” for transmission. Although the latest mutation appears to cause less severe symptoms in vaccinated people, Fauci warned that its transmissibility counteracts the mildness of the cases.

“Our hospitals, if things look like they’re looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people, because, again, we have so many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated,” he said.

Omicron has been identified in dozens of countries since it was first reported in southern Africa in November, prompting many to reimpose travel restrictions and other measures in an attempt to slow outbreaks.

Despite some early indications that Omicron is not more severe than the Delta variant – which is still the dominant strain – the heavily mutated Omicron has been shown to have some vaccine resistance and higher transmissibility in early data.

It’s already clear that the new variant is “raging through the world,” Dr. Fauci said. Case numbers have risen significantly in some areas in the U.S., hitting major metro-areas such as New York City particularly hard in the past week.

“No matter how you look at it,” he said, “when you have so many, many infections, even if it is less severe, that overcomes this slight to moderate diminution in severity.”

“Our hospitals, if things look like they’re looking now in the next week or two, are going to be very stressed,” particularly in areas of the country with low levels of vaccination, Fauci said.

Fauci urged people to be vaccinated, boosted, tested, and to wear masks in an effort to mitigate spread as the holidays approach.

“We are going to see breakthrough infections, there’s no doubt about that,” Fauci said. “The difference between a vaccinated and boosted person who has an infection and someone who has an infection who’s never been vaccinated, there’s a major difference with regard to the risk of severity.”

President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation Tuesday, unveiling new steps his administration is taking to combat the omicron variant.

Omicron now accounts for approximately three percent of cases in the US, a figure that is expected to rise rapidly as has been seen in other countries.

On Saturday, New York state announced a record number of daily cases for the second day in a row, with almost 22,000 positive results.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

_____________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent