New COVID-19 strain Omicron responsible for less than 1% infections in US, says CDC chief

The chief of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on Wednesday that even though more than 40 persons in the United States have been diagnosed with the novel COVID-19 omicron strain, yet, all of them were only mildly ill. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of CDC told The Associated Press during an interview that the information is limited and the agency is currently focusing on a more extensive investigation to know more about the new mutant version and what it may mean for the United States. 

Walensky claimed “the disease is mild” and so far, it has been witnessed that people who have been affected are basically showing the symptoms of cough, congestion, and exhaustion. According to the CDC, one individual has been admitted to the hospital, but no deaths have been recorded. Highlighting the fact that booster doses are approved for adults, CDC head stated, “What we generally know is the more mutations a variant has, the higher level you need your immunity to be. ... We want to make sure we bolster everybody’s immunity. And that’s really what motivated the decision to expand our guidance,” AP reported. 

The first case of the novel COVID-19 variant was reported in South Africa and on November 25, the World Health Organization (WHO) received the information about it. As per the WHO, the first verified B.1.1.529 infection was discovered in a sample obtained on November 9 of this year. Recently, WHO informed that the omicron strain has since been detected in 57 nations. 

Omicron strain contributed to less than 1% of the COVID-19 instances in the US

Furthermore, the first incidence in the United States was reported on December 1. The CDC has informed that 43 cases in 19 states have been confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon. The majority of the affected have been teenagers and young adults. About a third of the patients had travelled to foreign nations. The omicron variation contributed to less than 1% of the COVID-19 instances genetically sequenced in the United States last week; the delta variant accounted for more than 99 per cent. 

According to Walensky, over three-quarters of the patients were vaccinated, and a third received boosters. Booster doses would take approximately two weeks to perform effectively, according to the CDC, and some of the patients had obtained their most recent dose within that time frame.  

In addition to this, The US CDC is attempting to determine if the omicron strain produces milder or more severe disease than other COVID-19 variants. The fact which shows that at least all of the instances so far have been mild might be due to the reason that omicron has infected mostly vaccinated persons in the US, who are predicted to have milder symptoms, according to Walensky. Meanwhile, as per Worldometers, over 50,422,410 individuals have been affected by the disease in the nation since the outbreak, and more than 813,904 people have lost their lives due to Coronavirus. 

(Image: AP/ Pixabay)