A press briefing is now underway by the White House Covid-19 response team and related public health officials.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, said that cases of the Omicron variant of Covid have now been reported in 36 US states – and 75 countries around the world.
The Delta variant, which emerged last spring and took hold over the summer to become the dominant source of infections in the US, still accounts for 96% of Covid cases across the country, Walensky said.
Omicron, which was identified just a few weeks ago, now represents 3% of US coronavirus cases, she said. Omicron is estimated to account for higher percentages in some areas, however, particularly New York and New Jersey, where it’s about 13% of all cases.
Walensky noted the tragedy that 800,000 people in the US have now died from coronavirus, since the pandemic reached the country in January, 2020.
Omicron spreads more easily and quickly than Delta, which itself was a lot more contagious than the first strains of the highly-contagious Covid-19 virus.
“It’s vital for everyone to get vaccinated and get boosted and continue to be vigilant,” Walensky said.
Booster shots give the best protection against catching the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Walensky said 200 million Americans are now vaccinated and 55 million have received booster shots.
“When boosters are used, that protection works,” Walensky said.
Walensky said that US nursing home residents who have received a booster vaccine dose have a rate of catching Covid that is 10 times lower than those who have not been boosted, or are unvaccinateed.
Chief medical adviser to Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci, said that at this point in the pandemic there is no need for a variant-specific booster shot – the existing booster shots are effective against Omicron.