Omicron is now the most dominant type of coronavirus in the US, state health officials said Monday, running ahead of Delta with other strains and accounting for 73% of new infections last week.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers show a nearly sixfold increase in Omicron’s infection rate in just one week.
In much of the country, the prevalence of omicron is very high. It is responsible for an estimated 90% of new infections in the New York area, southeast, mid-industrial and the Pacific Northwest.
Since the end of June, Delta’s exception has been the main cause of US disease outbreaks. As of late November, more than 99.5% of coronaviruses were in Delta, according to CDC data.
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Scientists in Africa have begun reporting on the omicron less than a month ago and on November 26 the World Health Organization designated this as a “concern”. Mutant has already appeared in about 90 countries.
Much about the omicron variant remains unknown, including that it causes more or less disease. Preliminary studies suggest that the vaccine person will need a booster shot to have the best chance of preventing an omicron infection but even without extra dose, the vaccine should still provide strong protection against serious illness and death.
“We all have a day with Omicron,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “If you are going to work with the community, if you are going to have any kind of life, Omicron will be something you experience, and the best way you can deal with this is to be completely vaccinated.”
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