COVID-19: US admits it will take weeks to learn about new omicron variant and its effects

The response team against pandemic The government of the United States admitted that it will take weeks, at least between two and four, until they have enough information about the new variant of the COVID-19, omicron, its transmission capacity and its aggressiveness.

For this reason, both the main epidemiologist of the Administration, Antony Fauci, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, and the coordinator of the White House response to the pandemic, Jeff Zients, insisted on recommending that Americans get the booster of the vaccine or the first dose of this, if it is that have not yet been inoculated.

In addition, they defended the effectiveness of the protection measures that the country has in force before the arrival of travelers at a time like the present, although they admitted that if necessary they will be changed.

Any data on the transmission capacity or the severity that causes the contagion by the omicron variant is at this moment purely “speculative” in the words of Fauci.

The principal epidemiologist of the Administration chaired by Joe Biden explained, in this regard, that we must wait for institutions such as the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, in English) to analyze the new variant in order to determine its severity.

In two or four weeks, even earlier, it is expected that more will be known about omicron, although he did emphasize that, for now, according to data shared by other countries, those infected by this variant do not present unusual symptoms.

The three experts insisted that the vaccine is the best protection at this time.

Fauci pointed out that the vaccine and especially its booster give a “high level of antibodies” and therefore of protection. Hence his insistence that citizens wear it.

The director of the CDC, for her part, made a new appeal to the 45 million people who have not yet been vaccinated. “Now is the time,” he said.

Walensky considered “robust” the regulations in force for travelers arriving in the country, and recalled that everyone has to show a negative test, whether or not they have been vaccinated. But he also recalled the detection points in the main international airports.

The government does not rule out, however, that there may be changes.

“In terms of travel restrictions, we will learn more about the variant in a short time, its transmissibility and severity,” said Zients, who added that based on the data obtained, the medical team will give a recommendation on whether to make modifications.