The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing titled "Next Steps: The Road Ahead for the COVID-19 Response" on Thursday, November 4, 2021.
Anthony Fauci said Americans need to be prepared to fight the omicron Covid variant.
Fauci said on ABC's "This Week" that it's too early to say whether new mandates will be appropriate.
The World Health Organization last week classified omicron as a "variant of concern," meaning it is more contagious, more virulent or more skilled at evading public health measures.
The variant has several changes to the spike protein that allow the virus to enter the body, and some of those changes could lead to increased resistance and transmissibility.
The U.S. would restrict travel for non-U.S. citizens from South Africa and other countries. The variant has been found in the UK, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong, but not in the U.S.
It will be here. Will we be prepared for it? Fauci hopes that we will be ready for it if and when it arrives.
The companies are fighting against omicron. The vaccine maker could roll out a reformulated vaccine against the omicron coronaviruses early next year, according to the Chief Medical Officer of Moderna. It's not clear if new vaccines will be needed or if current vaccines will provide appropriate protection.
Fauci said that people who are unvaccinated should still get vaccinations.
We need to prepare for the worst. Fauci told ABC that it may not be necessary to go the route people are saying. We always make decisions based on the evidence.
