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The Omicron variant has spread to nearly one-third of U.S. states
The variant of the has spread to nearly one-third of U.S. states, prompting the surgeon general to call for calm as the nation struggles to get a grip on the ongoing pandemic.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Sunday implored Americans to help curb the spread of the new variant despite telling them they shouldn't fear it.
'I do think it's a reason for us to not necessarily panic but to be more vigilant and to recognize that the precautions that we have been talking about for the last year or so are all the more important now than ever,' Murthy told host Chris Wallace.
'We do know that the measures that we take to protect ourselves from the spread of COVID - including wearing masks in indoor spaces, being in well-ventilated spaces - those work and will work against omicron.'
At least 15 US states have reported Omicron cases, including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
Dr. Fauci said Sunday morning on CNN that South African officials indicated the Omicron variant does not appear to be translating into more hospitalizations or deaths.
'Thus far - though it's too early to really make any definitive statements about it - it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to it, but we've really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or really doesn't cause any severe illness comparable to delta,' he said.
'But thus far, the signals are a bit encouraging regarding the severity. But again we've got to hold judgement until we get more experienced.'
(image: ) Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Sunday implored Americans to help curb the spread of the new variant despite telling them they shouldn't fear it
(image: ) At least 15 US states have reported Omicron cases, including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin
Many of the cases were among fully vaccinated individuals with mild symptoms, although the booster shot status of some patients was not known.
Despite several dozen Omicron cases, the Delta variant still accounts for 99.9 percent of the 90,000 to 100,000 new cases of COVID each day in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told .
'We are everyday hearing about more and more probable cases so that number is likely to rise,' she said. 'We know it has many mutations, more mutations than prior variants.
'Many of those mutations have been associated with more transmissible variants, with evasion of some of our therapeutics, and potentially evasion of some of our immunity, and that's what we're watching really carefully.'
About 71 percent of the US population has received.
(image: ) About 71 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
(image: ) The have been more than 49 million cases of COVID-19 and 788,212 deaths in the nation since the pandemic took hold, according to Johns Hopkins University
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Although the Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa, it was later revealed that a case of the variant was confirmed in Europe a week before cases were detected in South Africa.
President Joe Biden locked eight South African countries out of the US last Monday in fear of the new super mutant COVID variant, and the ban remains in place despite travel remaining open to other foreign countries.
The US is now considering lifting its South Africa travel ban, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.
'When the ban was put on, it was put to give us time to figure out just what is going on,' Fauci told CNN's Jack Tapper during Sunday morning's episode of State of the Nation.
(image: ) White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Sunday that the US is reconsidering the South Africa travel ban
'Now as you mentioned, as we are getting more and more information about cases in our own country and worldwide, we're looking at that very carefully on a daily basis.'
COVID-19 vaccine makers are looking to quickly tweak their shots to target Omicron and U.S. regulators have vowed speedy reviews, but that could still take months.
'Certainly, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will move swiftly and CDC will move swiftly,' Walensky said.
Moderna has said it could seek U.S. approval for an updated vaccine as soon as March, but company officials in television interviews on Sunday said it still take time to increase output.
Moderna co-founder and Chairman Noubar Afeyan told CNN it would take another seven to 10 days to gather key Omicron data. Then, it 'will take a good 60 to 100 days' to deploy an Omicron-specific shot, although other options like a higher dose of the current booster are being explored, he said.
U.S. government officials are also working with vaccine makers Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson on updated shots.
Pfizer and Merck & Co Inc are also pursuing COVID-19 pill treatments.
More than 20 months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the surgeon general is still encouraging Americans to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
(image: ) The above chart shows the daily COVID-19 cases in the US for http://ex-fs-zfilm.pw November and December
(image: )
'Certainly what we've been seeing since the summer time is that if you are vaccinated or unvaccinated but gathered with people outside your household in indoor spaces, that wearing a mask is the recommended step to take to help reduce the potential for spread,' Murthy said.
'It protects you, but it also protects the people around you.'
He added that although the nation is still in the thick of the pandemic, it's in a better spot than it was when the crisis began.
'I just want to make sure people understand this very clearly: We are not back in March 2020, despite the prospect of a new variant - omicron - on the horizon and despite the fact that we found cases here,' Murthy said. 'We have more tools, we have more knowledge to protect ourselves.'
New York announced three more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus Saturday, bringing the number of state cases linked to the new variant to eight.
'The omicron variant is here, and as anticipated we are seeing the beginning of community spread,' state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a news release.
Seven of the cases have been found in New York City, once a global epicenter of the pandemic, and the other in Suffolk County.
The arrival of omicron comes as hospitals statewide continue to strain under a surge in coronavirus cases, most traced to the delta variant, along with staffing shortages.
The number of people testing positive in New York each day for the virus has doubled in the past 30 days.
Governor Kathy Hochul in recent days authorized the Health Department to limit nonessential, non-urgent proc
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