Anthony Fauci warns of 'bleak winter' ahead as Omicron spreads across globe

New York, First Published Dec 20, 2021, 10:48 AM IST | Last Updated Dec 20, 2021, 10:48 AM IST

Anthony Fauci, the top US pandemic expert, warned on Sunday of a dark winter ahead as the Omicron coronavirus variety causes a new wave of illnesses throughout the world, triggering restrictions and concerns about hospital capacity. "One thing that is pretty clear is Omicron's extraordinary potential to spread," says Fauci, adding that it is "just... racing over the earth."
Since it was first discovered in South Africa in November, Omicron has been found in dozens of nations, prompting some to reimpose travel bans and other precautions.

Despite early signs that it is not more severe than the Delta variation, which is still the prevalent strain, the severely mutated Omicron has been found in early data concerning vaccination resistance and increased transmissibility.

Fauci also cautioned against overestimation of Omicron's severity, saying that while the hospitalization-to-case ratio in South Africa is lower than in Delta, this might be due to underlying immunity from extensive past infections. He stated that we had seen so many infections, even if they are less severe, outweighs this minor to moderate decrease in severity. "Our hospitals are going to be pressured if things continue to look how they are today in the next week or two," Fauci added, referring to sections of the country with low vaccination rates.

On Sunday, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker announced that they had tested positive for Covid-19 despite having been vaccinated and boosted and experiencing minor symptoms. Neither said anything about being afflicted with Omicron. Fauci advised unvaccinated Americans to be vaccinated and vaccinated people to obtain booster shots, which have been found to increase protection.

Also Read | Dr Anthony Fauci says there are signs that Omicron may be less hazardous than Delta

President Joe Biden's administration has been aggressively advocating for the vaccine, which is scheduled to address the country on pandemic developments on Tuesday. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while slightly more than 70% of the US population has received at least one vaccine, another 50 million eligible persons remain unprotected, according to Fauci.

Omicron currently accounts for around 3% of cases in the United States, a percentage that is projected to climb fast as it has in other nations.
According to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, the United States is the country worst afflicted by the epidemic, with 800,000 confirmed Covid-19 fatalities last week.

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