Omicron now accounts for 73% of all sequenced COVID cases in US

The cases of Omicron COVID-19 are surging in the United States, with the latest report claiming that the variant accounts for 73 per cent of all sequenced coronavirus cases, surging from around three per cent last week.

The once-dominant Delta variant has now receded to roughly 27 per cent of sequenced cases. Since the end of June, the Delta variant had been the main cause of US infections. As recently as the end of November, more than 99.5 per cent of coronaviruses were Delta, according to CDC data. The national rate suggests that more than 6,50,000 Omicron infections occurred in the US last week.

The one factor to keep in mind though is that Omicron is, as per the data we have, a lot less virulent than Delta and other variants. So, the fatality rates might be reduced, but there is a still a threat of the hospital systems being overpowered if faced with a rush of patients.

The COVID-19 Omicron variant is just raging around the world, the White House's top medical adviser had said, adding that President Joe Biden is planning to give a stark warning of what the winter will look like for unvaccinated Americans.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tried to defend the president's earlier promise. The idea about hoping and having an aspiration to be independent of the virus after a period of time is understandable and reasonable, Fauci said. But the one thing that we know from, now, almost two years experience with this virus is that it is really very unpredictable.

The administration is expecting a series of breakthrough infections with the surge of holiday travelers. Fauci said most people who have been vaccinated and gotten a booster should be OK if they take precautions such as continually wearing masks in crowded settings such as airports.