The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that nearly all new US Covid-19 cases last week were linked to the omicron coronaviruses variant.
People wait in line for Covid-19 tests in New York City.
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The omicron variant was found in 95.4% of all new cases for the week of December 26 - January 1 according to the CDC.
The week ending December 18 had a 37.9% increase in cases, and the week ending December 11 had a 8% increase.
The variant makes up the majority of cases in every U.S. region, with the regions with the highest percentage of omicron cases including New York and New Jersey.
The region that includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska has the lowest share of omicron cases, with an estimated 77.4% of new cases last week linked to the variant.
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239%. According to public health data compiled by the New York Times, there has been an increase in the number of U.S. Covid cases over the past two weeks. According to the Times, the new Covid-19 cases in the country are up from 118,000 in mid-December.
The key background.
Since the first case was detected on December 15th, the omicron variant has spiked in areas like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Florida, causing new measures to be put in place. The new strain is more resistant to vaccines when it comes to preventing infections, though evidence suggests the shots are still protective against severe illness and death. The variant appears to be less prevalent in the lungs than previous strains, and early studies suggest it may produce milder disease than previous strains. The World Health Organization cautioned Tuesday that more studies are needed before reaching conclusions about the variant's severity, as hospitalizations are on the rise.
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A South Africa study found that Pfizer shot just 33% effective against Omicron infections.
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