Omicron May Be “More Transmissible”, Get Vaccinated: Top US Scientist

The Omicron Covid-19 variant seems to transmit more, strengthen the needs of Americans to get vaccinations or booster shots, US health officials said.
Omicron “is Clarion’s call” for people to vaccinate, Anthony Fauci, who is the top Medical Advisor President Joe Biden, told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Infection in the US has gone up and increasing prevention with the emergence of a new variant will have an impact on what Americans “towards a gloomy or gloomy winter,” he said.

Biden last week limited US journey links from Monday with eight African countries including South Africa, where Omicron was first identified. After Biden was briefed by his Covid response team and Fauci on Sunday, the White House said the President would provide updates about the US response to Omicron on Monday.

Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, said, “There is no reason to panic, but … the great reason to go was pushed” with the discovery of Omicron last week in South Africa. The existing vaccine has worked against mutations and maybe again now, he said at “Fox News Sunday.”

“Given the history, we hope that it is likely that the current vaccine will be enough to provide protection, and especially the booster will provide additional protection layers,” he added.

The Omicron strain has spread rapidly in South Africa and reaches as far as Europe and Australia.

“Don’t want it to be” in the US, Fauci said about “this week” ABC on Sunday. “The question is, will we be ready for it?”

The US has not faced a comprehensive national effort to sort Covid-19 cases to help detect new variants. Conversely, federal officials mostly depend on state operations by parts and other private laboratories to track variants. South Africa, on the other hand, is considered to have the ability of sophisticated genome sequencing.

“Omicron molecular characteristics that strongly suggest that it will be more transmitting,” said Fauci. For now, “we don’t know how much the severity” or how easy the variant eliminates the existing vaccine, he said.

Light case

South African officials said the initial cases showed symptoms of mild omicron infection.

The new vaccine targeted against Omicron will take “at least three months or more to appear,” Collins said. He said it was “the right time” for Americans to get a booster shot or initial vaccination.

“Omicron is another reason to do this,” Collins said.