US faces a double coronavirus surge as omicron advances

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FILE - People hold successful enactment astatine a COVID-19 investigating tract successful Times Square, New York, Dec. 13, 2021. The caller omicron coronavirus mutant speeding astir the satellite whitethorn bring different question of chaos, threatening to further agelong infirmary workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend vacation plans for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The caller omicron coronavirus mutant speeding astir the satellite whitethorn bring different question of chaos, threatening to further agelong infirmary workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend vacation plans for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row.

The White House connected Wednesday insisted determination was nary request for a lockdown due to the fact that vaccines are wide disposable and look to connection extortion against the worst consequences of the virus. But adjacent if omicron proves milder connected the full than delta, it whitethorn disarm immoderate of the lifesaving tools disposable and enactment immune-compromised and aged radical astatine peculiar hazard arsenic it begins a accelerated battle connected the United States.

“Our delta surge is ongoing and, successful fact, accelerating. And connected apical of that, we’re going to adhd an omicron surge,” said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a probe collaboration led by Harvard Medical School.

“That’s alarming, due to the fact that our hospitals are already filling up. Staff are fatigued,” leaving constricted capableness for a imaginable crush of COVID-19 cases “from an omicron question superimposed connected a delta surge.”

Most likely, helium and different experts said astatine a quality briefing Tuesday, an omicron surge is already nether mode successful the United States, with the latest mutant coronavirus outpacing the nation’s quality to way it.

Based connected specimens collected past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said omicron accounted for astir 3% of genetically-sequenced coronaviruses nationally. Percentages alteration by region, with the highest — 13% — successful the New York/New Jersey area.

But Harvard experts said these are apt underestimates due to the fact that omicron is moving truthful accelerated that surveillance attempts can’t support up.

Globally, much than 75 countries person reported confirmed cases of omicron. In the United States, 36 states person detected the variant. Meanwhile, delta is surging successful galore places, with blistery spots successful New England and the precocious Midwest. The 5 states with the highest two-week rolling mean of cases per 100,000 radical are New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Michigan, Minnesota and Vermont.

Universities are abruptly closing classrooms during finals week with infections multiplying astatine a accelerated rate. Both t he NBA and NHL person had to postpone games, and the NFL had its worst two-day outbreak since the commencement of the pandemic, with dozens of players infected.

Outside the U.S., the president of the European Union said omicron volition go the ascendant variant successful a month and declared that “once again, this Christmas volition beryllium overshadowed by the pandemic.”

Scientists astir the satellite are racing to recognize omicron, which has a ample fig of worrisome mutations successful important regions of its familial operation that could impact however it spreads from idiosyncratic to person. How rapidly the fig of cases doubles, known arsenic “doubling time,” tin springiness a preview of what the illness load could beryllium successful a fewer weeks.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that aboriginal information suggests omicron is much transmissible than delta, with a doubling clip of astir 2 days.

In Britain, wherever omicron cases are doubling each 2 to 3 days, the variant is expected to soon regenerate delta arsenic the ascendant strain successful the country.

The U.K. connected Wednesday recorded the highest fig of confirmed caller COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began, and England’s main aesculapian serviceman warned that the concern is apt to get worse arsenic omicron drives a caller question of unwellness during the holidays.

“The information retired of the UK are rather alarming astatine this point,” and foreshadow what’s to travel successful the United States, said Bronwyn MacInnis, manager of pathogen genomic surveillance astatine the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. For example, she said, by Tuesday afternoon, omicron was already the astir communal variant successful London.

In galore ways, omicron remains a mystery. Hints are emerging from South Africa, wherever it was archetypal reported, indicating it whitethorn origin little terrible illness than delta but beryllium amended astatine evading vaccines.

But, MacInnis warned: “There’s overmuch much that we don’t cognize astir this variant than we do, including the severity.”

At the aforesaid time, Lemieux said, determination look to beryllium less tools to combat it. Some monoclonal antibody treatments don’t enactment arsenic good against omicron successful laboratory tests, Lemieux said. Vaccines look to connection little protection, though CDC officials said booster shots fortify that protection.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s apical infectious illness expert, said Wednesday determination is nary need, for now, for an omicron-specific booster shot. The two-dose mRNA vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna shots, inactive look to connection sizeable extortion against hospitalization from omicron, Fauci said.

“If we didn’t person these tools, I would beryllium telling you to really, truly beryllium worried,” Fauci said.

Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus effect coordinator, said the U.S. has the tools to combat the virus, including omicron, and “there is nary request to fastener down.” With vaccines disposable present for 95% of Americans, “we cognize however to support our kids successful schools and our businesses open. And we’re not going to unopen down.”

Health officials called connected Americans to get vaccinated, get their booster shots, deterioration masks indoors and get tested earlier traveling and earlier vacation gatherings.

“Hospital capableness is already astatine a breaking constituent successful galore states due to the fact that of terrible cases of COVID-19,” Michael Fraser, CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said successful a statement.

Given the precocious level of transmission, MacInnis said determination volition undoubtedly beryllium terrible cases.

“No substance however severely it affects healthy, afloat vaccinated and boosted populations, it volition deed the astir susceptible among america the hardest still,” she said. “So the elderly, the immunocompromised, different susceptible populations volition inactive beryllium astatine top hazard and inactive carnivore the brunt of this.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives enactment from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely liable for each content.

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