Dr Anthony Fauci said the threat to the US from the Omicron variant remained to be determined – but that signs from South Africa, where the variant emerged, were encouraging.
“Clearly in South Africa Omicron has a transmission advantage,” Fauci told CNN’s State of the Union, “because … they were very much at a low level then they had almost a vertical spike upwards, which is almost exclusively Omicron.
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 have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that [Omicron] is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness comparable to Delta. But, thus far, the signals are a bit encouraging regarding the severity. But, again, you got to hold judgment until we get more experience.”
Photo Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, arrives to the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA. EPA-EFE/Stefani Reynolds / POOL
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