The omicron variant is estimated to have accounted for 95.4% of the coronavirus strains circulating in the United States since January 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Tuesday.
The variant has spread rapidly across the country since its detection on Dec. 1, replacing delta as the dominant strain and causing a new wave of infections that brought daily cases closer to a million on Monday.
The CDC said the variant accounted for 77% of cases in the week ending Dec. 25, up from 58.6% expected last week.
The fast-spreading variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November and has spread around the world rapidly since then, although indications that it may cause milder symptoms than previous strains have offered some relief.
Last week, the CDC lowered its estimate of omicron cases for the week ended December 18 to 22% from 73%, citing additional data and discrepancies caused by the rapid spread of the variant.
The delta variant accounts for 4.6% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States as of January 1, according to CDC data.
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