The contagious omicron variant has been raging around the world and it will likely cause a new wave of cases in the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci said over the weekend.
- “This virus is extraordinary,” Fauci told CNN Sunday.
Fauci’s message was simple — the omicron variant has started to spread across the United States, as it has been spreading around the world, according to The New York Times. The increased amount of omicron in the U.S. will lead to more cases in the country.
Fauci said getting tested for COVID-19 on a regular basis will help keep cases low. People will know if they have COVID-19 before they head out to parties for the holiday season.
- “We are doing better if you look now compared to where we were a year ago,” Fauci said on CNN. “We now have multiple at-home tests available, and we virtually had none a year ago. But we do need to do better.”
Last week, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicted the omicron variant will blaze its way through the U.S. as I wrote for the Deseret News.
- “The real question is, is that an inherent diminution of virulence of the virus or is it because there are so many people in the population who have already been infected and now have residual post-infection immunity — which is not protecting them from getting infected, but is protecting them from getting severe disease?” Fauci said.
- “Whatever it is, the disease seems to be less severe. Whether it’s inherently less pathogenic as a virus or whether there’s more protection in the community, we’re just going to have to see when it comes in the United States. And for sure ... it is going to be dominant in the United States, given its doubling time,” Fauci said.