A hand holding a medical syringe with words in the background is depicted in a photo illustration.
The White House chief medical advisor said Tuesday that there have been 226 cases of the Covid-19 variant detected in 20 countries so far.
The variant that first appeared in South Africa has more than 30 different variations. The key part of the virus that allows it to bind to human cells and cause disease makes scientists worry that it will be more infectious than the highly contagious delta variant that has caused a surge in cases across the globe.
Fauci told reporters that this is not a variant of interest and concern and that there are some differences between it and the other ones. The increase transmissibility and immune evasion have been associated with these genes.
He said that scientists don't know how they will change the way the virus behaves or spreads.
In the last few months, the US has stepped up the amount of genetic testing for Covid cases, up from about 8,000 a week earlier this year, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She said that the delta variant is the most common strain in the US, accounting for about 99% of all cases.
Walensky said at the briefing that there were more tools to fight the variant than there were last year.
It is too early to tell if omicron will be more deadly than the delta variant. There were reports of more mild symptoms in younger and healthier patients who would typically have milder Covid and were based on a small number of cases.
He said it was difficult to know if this particular variant would result in severe disease. We do not know if there are any unusual symptoms associated with variant and it is too early to tell.
The officials said the best way to protect yourself against the varait is to get vaccinations, wear masks and be aware of crowds.
How do we address omicron? We have said it many times. It deserves repeating. If you aren't vaccine-free, get boosted, and use masks to avoid crowds and poorly-ventilated spaces.
Walensky said that the CDC definition of fully vaccineed hasn't changed. It is still two weeks after the second shot of Moderna or Pfizer's vaccine. She said the need to bolster immunity increases as the virus changes. She said that they will look at whether or not to update their definition of fully vaccineed.
