By Matt Spetalnick and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) – The omicron variant of the coronavirus has spread to about a third of U.S. states, but the delta version continues to account for the majority of COVID-19 cases nationwide, the report said. Sunday health officials.
Although the emergence of the new variant has caused alarm around the world, Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease official, told CNN that “so far there does not appear to be a great degree of severity,” but He added that it was too early to draw definitive conclusions and more studies are needed.
Fauci also expected the United States to lift its ban on travelers from southern African countries within a “reasonable period of time.”
The South African government has complained that it is being punished, rather than applauded, for discovering the new variant and quickly reporting it to international health officials.
Fauci praised South Africa for its transparency, saying the US travel ban was imposed at a time “when we were really in the dark” and time was needed to study the variant.
At least 15 states have reported omicron cases: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally.
Many of the cases occurred in fully vaccinated people with mild symptoms, although the booster vaccine status of some patients is unknown.
Despite several dozen omicron cases, the delta variant still accounts for 99.9% of the 90,000 to 100,000 new COVID cases daily in the United States, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News. In an interview.
“Every day we hear about more and more probable cases, so that number is likely to increase,” he said.
Manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccine are looking to quickly adjust their injections to target omicron, and US regulators have promised quick reviews, although that could still take months.
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Susan Heavey, Edited in Spanish by Manuel Farías)