Public Health

Omicron accounts for 95% of sequenced Covid cases in the US as infections break records

Despite the appointment on Monday, January 3, 2021, the waiting time at the Covid test site on Broadway in Santa Monica was at least 45 minutes.

Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 now accounts for almost all sequenced cases in the United States and leads to a massive increase in infections across the country, which is a burden to hospitals and threatens to disrupt daily life.

Omicron accounted for 95% of the sequenced Covid cases in the US in the week of New Year’s Day, while the once dominant Delta variant now only accounts for 4.6% of the sequenced cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC regularly collects samples of the virus that causes Covid and analyzes genetic sequences to identify new variants and determine which strains of the virus are circulating in the United States

Delta overtook the highly contagious Omicron variant within a few weeks. In early December, Omicron accounted for less than 1% of the cases sequenced, while Delta accounted for 99%.

The United States reported a pandemic record of more than 1 million new infections on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. According to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data, the nation now reports a seven-day average of more than 480,000 new infections, nearly double the previous week.

Omicron is driving cases up, at least in part due to its ability to bypass some of the immunity generated by vaccines and to cause breakthrough infections in large numbers.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that people who are fully vaccinated, especially those who received a booster vaccination, are highly protected from serious illness from Omicron even if they are infected.

“You can still get Covid, but it is very unlikely, very unlikely that you will get seriously ill,” Biden said of people who have taken such precautions. “We are seeing Covid-19 cases in vaccinated workplaces across America, including here in the White House, but when you are vaccinated and boosted you are immensely protected.”

A study published by the UK Health Authority last week found that Pfizer and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines are only about 10% effective in preventing symptomatic Omicron infection 20 weeks after the second dose. However, according to the study, two doses still offer good protection against serious illnesses.

Booster doses, on the other hand, offer the best protection and are up to 75% effective in preventing symptomatic infections, according to the UK health authority. US public health officials have been closely monitoring data from the UK as the UK omicron wave began a few weeks before it arrived in the US

Biden said people who are not vaccinated should be alarmed about the rapid spread of Omicron in the US, warning that many of them will become infected and develop serious illnesses.

“Some will die – die unnecessarily,” said Biden. “Unvaccinated people occupy hospital beds and overcrowd emergency rooms and intensive care units. This means that other people who need access to these hospitals will be displaced. “

Scientists and public health officials are still trying to determine the severity of the disease caused by Omicron compared to Delta. The UK health authority found in their study that people infected with Omicron are less likely to need hospital treatment than those who have the Delta variant.

A study by the University of Hong Kong Medical School found that Omicron’s lung infection was significantly lower than the original strain of the virus, which could indicate a less serious illness. However, Omicron replicates much faster in the human airways, which the study says could explain why it is spreading faster.

UK Health Authority’s senior medical advisor Susan Hopkins warned that it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions about severity as the variant is only just beginning to reach more vulnerable groups such as the elderly. The World Health Organization has also warned against treating Omicron as a mild variant, as the previously infected people are in younger age groups who generally have better clinical outcomes.

Hospital admissions are increasing in the United States. According to a seven-day average of the Department of Health and Human Services data as of Jan. 3, about 98,000 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, a 32% increase from the previous week.

A small study from South Africa that first informed the world about Omicron in November found that people infected with the variant may have increased immune protection against Delta. According to the study, this could lead to Omikron displacing the delta in countries where they circulate together.

The team of South African scientists found that if Omicron were to displace the delta and prove to be milder, “the incidence of severe Covid-19 disease would be reduced and infection could shift to be less disruptive to individuals and society “.

– CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

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