Omicron currently dominant COVID-19 variant in US, making up 73% of fresh cases: CDC

Amid the surge in Omicron cases across the world, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States on Monday stated that the new 'highly mutated' COVID-19 variant is currently the most dominant, accounting for over 70% of the new COVID-19 infections last week in the nation. It has been only 20 days since the first Omicron case was discovered in the US and presently Omicron represented 73% of infections during the week ending December 18, while Delta contributed for 26.6%, according to fresh statistics issued by the CDC.  

Further, Omicron was just 12.6% of the prevalent virus the week before, ending December 11, and contributed to roughly 1% of new cases in the first week of December, CNN reported. The new Omicron variant has become very common in several areas of the nation, such as in the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes, the Southeast, New York area, a group of states centred on Texas, and New England, where it accounts for more than 90% of cases.  

48 US states have recorded new Omicron cases

As per public declarations from medical systems and state officials, 48 US states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, had recorded cases of Omicron as of Monday. While Oklahoma and South Dakota are the only states where no instances of Omicron have been documented. Meanwhile, the delta variant of COVID-19 has been the predominant strain of the virus inflicting the majority of infections in the United States since the end of June, accounting for over 99% of additional cases in the previous few months, NPR reported.  

In addition to this, the scientists claim that omicron spreads faster than other COVID-19 variants which even included delta, however, most of the information about it remains unclear, such as whether it produces more or less severe sickness. Although, even if the new variation is milder, the sheer volume of illnesses might overwhelm health services. 

Omicron "going to take over" soon: Fauci

Due to the extremely contagious nature of Omicron, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases specialist, said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that Omicron was "going to take over" soon. Omicron instances are increasing every 1.5 to 3 days, according to the World Health Organization. Further, as per recent modelling by the CDC, the Omicron strain is quickly spreading in the US and might peak in a big wave in January. Meanwhile, as per Worldometers, over 5,20,59,667 individuals have been affected by the disease in the nation since the outbreak, and more than 8,28,836 people have lost their lives due to Coronavirus. 

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