Anthony Fauci, top US pandemic advisor, warned of a bleak winter ahead, as the Covid 19 Omicron variant spurs a new wave of infections, sparking restrictions and concerns over hospital capacity.
One thing that is very clear is that. Fauci told NBC News that Omicrons have an extraordinary capacity of spreading. Omicron has been identified in dozens of countries since it was first reported in South Africa in November, prompting many to impose travel restrictions and other measures.
Despite indications, it is not more severe than the Delta variant currently the dominant strain, the heavily mutated Omicron has been shown in early data to have a worrying resistance to vaccines and higher transmissibility.
Fauci cautioned against too much optimism over Omicron's severity, noting that this could be due to the underlying immunity from widespread previous infections in South Africa, while the hospitalization-to-case ratio is lower than with Delta.
He underscored, no matter how you look at it, when you have so many, many infections, even if it is less severe, that overcomes this slight to moderate diminution in severity. The hospitals of the country with low levels of vaccination are going to be very stressed, if things look like they're looking now in the next week or two, Fauci said.
On Sunday, US Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter that she had tested positive for Covid-19 despite being vaccinated and boosted, and was experiencing mild symptoms. She did not say whether she had been infected with Omicron.
Fauci urged Americans not to get a shot and the vaccinated to get boosters, which have been shown to re-up protection.
President Joe Biden is due to address the nation on Tuesday about the pandemic developments and has been campaigning for vaccination.
More than 70 percent of the US population has had at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, another 50 million eligible people are unprotected, Fauci said.
He said that it is going to be a tough few weeks to months as we get deeper into the winter.
Omicron is expected to increase as it is seen in other countries, as it accounts for around three percent of cases in the United States.
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.
The United States is the nation hardest hit by the epidemic, crossing 800,000 known Covid deaths on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.