Omicron COVID-19 variant could cause 'significant problems' for US economy: Yellen

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said that the new Omicron COVID-19 variant could cause “significant problems” for the American economy. While speaking at a conference, Yellen said that the new strain is something that is going to slow economic growth significantly. But she also added that there is a lot of “uncertainty” and it could also cause “significant problems”. 

“We are still evaluating,” Yellen said at the conference, according to The Hill. 

It is to mention that after the detection of the Omicron COVID variant, the global markets had tanked last week. The new strain has led some countries to impose international travel bans. Now, Yellen has said that Omicron could also make supply chain issues and inflation worse. 

But, according to the US Treasury Secretary, the variant could also slow the growth of the US economy, which would, in turn, ease some pressures on inflation. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, the “pandemic could be with us for quite some time. Hopefully not completely stifling economic activity, but affecting our behaviour in ways that contribute to inflation,” Yellen said. She even added that the rise in inflations stems largely from the Coronavirus pandemic and somewhat from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. 

Biden’s winter plan to combat Omicron COVID variant 

Meanwhile, it is to note that public health experts are working to understand the new strain, which was first detected in South Africa in November. Omicron is thought to be highly contagious, and some experts have also warned that it could evade immunity provided by existing COVID-19 vaccines. In the United States, Omicron cases have already been detected in multiple states, spurring conversation about new restrictions. 

However, the US President has signalled that he does not plan to call for any closures or restrictions on businesses, schools or other in-person gatherings in response to the new strain. The Biden administration plans to combat the pandemic this winter only with an extension of mask requirements on public transportation and an expansion of health insurance coverage of at-home COVID-19 tests. On Thursday, Biden said that the US is “going to fight COVID-19 not with shutdowns or lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more”. 

“We will beat it back with science and speed, not chaos and confusion — just as we did in the spring and again with the more powerful delta variant in the summer and fall,” Biden wrote in an op-ed published in USA Today on Thursday.

(Image: AP)