CNN
The United States is likely in for a hard winter as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads rapidly, Dr. Anthony Fauci says, straining a health care system already battered by the Delta variant.
“It’s going to take over,” Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said of the Omicron variant on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, urging Americans to get vaccinated and get their booster shots. “And be prudent in everything else you do: When you travel in your indoor settings that are congregated, wear a mask.”
“We can’t walk away from that, Jake, we can’t,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “Because with Omicron, that we’re dealing with, it is going to be a tough few weeks to months as we get deeper into the winter.”
According to the World Health Organization, Omicron cases are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days with documented spread. And in the US, it’s expected to become the “dominant strain” in the coming weeks, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
The US is now facing a resurgent coronavirus as the pandemic marches into its third year: The country was averaging 126,967 new cases per day as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University — up from an average of just over 70,000 new cases per day at the beginning of November.
“This Omicron variant is extraordinarily contagious. It’s as contagious as measles, and that’s about the most contagious virus that we’ve seen,” CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner said Saturday, warning there was a “tsunami” coming for unvaccinated Americans.
Scientists say it’s still too early to tell whether Omicron causes a milder form of Covid-19. But regardless, it will put pressure on the health care system, Reiner said.
“Why would you go into that kind of battle completely unarmed?” said Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. “Our vaccines will protect you, particularly if you are triple vaxed. People who are unvaxed should start the process now. Go ahead and go to your pharmacy and get vaccinated.”
It’s important to remain vigilant to help prevent hospitals from getting “swamped,” he added. Even if Omicron ends up causing less severe infection than Delta, the sheer number of infections Omicron could generate could overwhelm US hospitals.
More than 69,000 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 across the US and more than 20% of all ICU beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“We need to protect our health care system,” Reiner said, “and that’s why every American needs to mask up and vax up right now because our health care infrastructure is at stake right now.”
President Joe Biden will meet with his Covid-19 response team regarding the latest developments with the Omicron variant, according to the White House.
The meeting comes ahead of remarks Tuesday in which the President will discuss the variant, new steps the administration is taking and will issue another “stark warning of what the winter will look like for Americans who choose to remain unvaccinated,” the White House said.
‘Do not wait’ to get a booster, expert says
According to CDC data, about 61.4% of the total US population is fully vaccinated, and about 32.1% of fully vaccinated adults have received a booster, which health officials point to as a crucial line of defense against the Omicron variant. And yet many who are eligible for a booster shot have not gotten one.
The protection offered from two-dose mRNA vaccines…
