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Friday, December 1, 2023 | 
Coronavirus U.S. & World

Omicron variant may not be spreading as fast as previously thought, CDC says

The CDC changed its estimate of omicron variant cases in the U.S.

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE Omicron variant may not be spreading as fast as previously thought, CDC says
People in line at a COVID-19 test site in Utah.

Anthony Torres walks to people in line at a COVID-19 test site at the Cannon Health Building in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. The omicron variant of the coronavirus may not be as prevalent in the United States are previously thought, according to a recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

The omicron variant of the coronavirus may not be as prevalent in the United States as previously thought, according to a recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • The new CDC data suggests that the omicron variant accounted for 59% of all infections as of Dec. 25 — Christmas Day.
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However, the CDC previously said the omicron variant accounted for 73% of all cases for the week ending Dec. 18, according to The Hill. That number was changed by the CDC to 22.5%.

  • “Setting aside the question of how the initial estimate was so inaccurate, if CDC’s new estimate of Omicron prevalence is precise then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations we’re seeing from Covid may still be driven by Delta infections,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, tweeted on Tuesday.

Indeed, the CDC said Tuesday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus represented the majority of new COVID-19 cases, as I wrote for the Deseret News.

  • Meanwhile, the delta variant makes up about 41.1% of U.S. COVID-19 cases right now, according to The Times of Israel.

Right now, the bulk of omicron variant cases is concentrated in the northeastern United States, along with some cases in the South, per the Deseret News. Experts expect the omicron variant to move West in the coming weeks.