Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the Omicron variant could pose a significant risk to the world economy's recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic.
The economic impact of the variant was still very uncertain and the subject of ongoing analysis, according to Yellen. But she warned that the variant's spread could exacerbate supply chain issues and an ongoing inflation crisis that has hampered the economic recovery in recent months.
Hopefully it won't slow economic growth significantly, Yellen told an interview with Reuters. This fall was unexpectedly proved to be the cause of some problems, according to the delta variant. We saw a slowdown in economic growth in the United States on account of it. There is a lot of uncertainty, but it could cause serious problems. We are still evaluating that, Yellen said.
Public health experts are still working on understanding the omicron variant that was first detected in South Africa. The mutant strain of COVID 19 is thought to be highly contagious, and some experts have warned it could evade immunity provided by existing COVID 19 vaccines.
The expansion of mask requirements on public transportation and expansion of health insurance coverage of at-home COVID 19 tests is part of the plan to combat the COVID 19 pandemic this winter.
The U.S. authorities have confirmed at least two cases of the Omicron variant. Yellen suggested that the emergence of the Omicron variant could prolong the country's effort to defeat the Pandemic.
She said that life was returning to normal over the summer as though with increased vaccinations and booster shots it looked promising. The new variant, the Omicron variant, could be with us for a long time. It's a possibility that economic activity will not be completely stifling, but it's affecting our behavior in ways that contribute to inflation.