The Omicron variant has been spreading rapidly, especially in the United States, where it has been ravaged by the second wave of coronavirus disease (Covid-19). According to Reuters statistics, it is facing another dark winter, with a 45% increase in hospital admissions and a 40% increase in cases from the previous month. The Scripps Research and Translational Institute told CNBC that Americans may not be prepared for the rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus.

“We are behind everything needed to advertise to the American public,” he told CNBC last week, adding that full vaccination should mean three shots instead of two.

“We are now in Omicron’s land,” he said.

His comments came a few days before Dr. Anthony Fauci, senior medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, said to redefine what it means to be fully vaccinated.

“There is no doubt that the best vaccination is to use boosters,” Dr. Fauci told CNBC.

On Sunday, he urged unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated and vaccinated people to get a booster, which has been shown to restore protection. He also cautioned against being too optimistic about the severity of Omicron, and pointed out that in South Africa-the case rate is lower than Delta, which may be due to potential immunity from previous widespread infections.

“No matter how you look at it,” he emphasized, “when you have so many infections, even if it is not that serious, it overcomes a slight to moderate decrease in severity.”

Currently, in the United States, people are considered fully vaccinated if they receive two doses of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Delta variant is still the main strain in the United States, but Omicron is working hard to overthrow it and gain a place for itself. Early data shows that this highly mutated variant is worryingly resistant to vaccines and more infectious. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although more than 70% of the US population has been vaccinated at least once, another 50 million eligible people remain unprotected.

Omicron now accounts for about 3% of US cases, and this number is expected to rise rapidly like other countries.

On Saturday, New York State announced a record number of daily cases for the second consecutive day, with nearly 22,000 positive results.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, there were more than 800,000 known Covid-19 deaths in the United States last Tuesday.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times