Omicron sweeps across nation, now 73% of US COVID-19 cases

NEW YORK – Omicron has raced up of different variants and is present the ascendant mentation of the coronavirus successful the U.S., accounting for 73% of caller infections past week, national wellness officials said Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed astir a six-fold summation successful omicron's stock of infections successful lone 1 week.

In overmuch of the country, omicron's prevalence is adjacent higher. It's liable for an estimated 90% of caller infections successful the New York area, the Southeast, the concern Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.

Since the extremity of June, the delta variant has been the main mentation causing U.S. infections. As precocious arsenic the extremity of November, much than 99.5% of coronaviruses were delta, according to CDC data.

Scientists successful Africa archetypal sounded the alarm astir omicron little than a period agone and connected Nov. 26 the World Health Organization designated it arsenic a “variant of concern." The mutant has since shown up successful astir 90 countries.

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Much astir the omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes much oregon little terrible illness. Early studies suggest the vaccinated volition request a booster changeable for the champion accidental astatine preventing omicron corruption but adjacent without the other dose, vaccination inactive should connection beardown extortion against terrible unwellness and death.

“All of america person a day with omicron,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a elder student astatine the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “If you’re going to interact with society, if you’re going to person immoderate benignant of life, omicron volition beryllium thing you encounter, and the champion mode you tin brushwood this is to beryllium afloat vaccinated.”

Adalja said helium was not amazed by the CDC information showing omicron overtaking delta successful the U.S., fixed what was seen successful South Africa, the U.K. and Denmark. He predicted dispersed implicit the holidays, including breakthrough infections among the vaccinated and superior complications among the unvaccinated that could accent hospitals already burdened by delta.

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CDC’s estimates are based connected thousands of coronavirus specimens collected each week done assemblage and commercialized laboratories and authorities and section wellness departments. Scientists analyse their familial sequences to find which versions of the COVID-19 viruses are astir abundant.

In the week that ended Dec. 11, omicron’s stock of caller infections successful the U.S. accrued to 2.9% from 0.4% the week before, the CDC antecedently reported.

But CDC connected Tuesday said they are revising immoderate of the earlier numbers, aft analyzing much specimens. The caller numbers bespeak that astir 13% of the infections the week of Dec. 11 were omicron, and not 3%, CDC officials said.

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Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard and Carla K. Johnson contributed to this report.

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