Vaccinated can get COVID-19 due to the nature of the omicron variant

People completely vaccinated can contract COVID-19 and remain asymptomatic or experience some discomfort for a few days due to the transmission capacity of the omicron variant, said this Wednesday the head of the White House working group against the pandemic, Jeff Zients.

“Due to the highly communicable nature of omicron, we will see that fully vaccinated people get COVID,” Zients said during a press conference of the US government’s pandemic response team.

He warned, however, that the unvaccinated “are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill” from the virus, be hospitalized and even die from the disease.

In any case, the official stressed that the country is prepared and, citing the speech that US President Joe Biden gave to the country on Tuesday, insisted that “this is not March 2020,” when the pandemic it hit the United States hard.

“We have more tools than ever to protect people: vaccines, boosters, tests and treatments,” he added.

For her part, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English), Rochelle Walensky, indicated that the average number of cases in the last week is 149,300 new infections per day, 25% more with compared to the previous week.

Hospitalizations, he detailed, reach a daily average of 7,800 and deaths register an average of 1,200 per day, 3.5% more than the previous week.

Furthermore, he confirmed that the omicron variant has already been detected in more than 85 countries.

In the United States, this variant already represents approximately 73% of cases, confirmed the official, although she indicated that in some areas of the country “it is estimated that it represents 90%” of new infections.

However, he admitted that this increase in the proportion of cases attributed to omicron is “similar” to what has been seen around the world. (I)