According to Bloomberg News, the new strain of Coronavirus Omicron now accounts for 73% of sequenced cases of Covid-19 in the United States, showing an increase of 3% compared to last week, as per the recent estimates of the Fed.
The new strain, which is highly mutated, has been found across the US as stated in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention model while providing its weekly updates. Till last week, the delta variant was the dominant strain of the virus in the United States but has declined to approximately 27% among the sequenced cases of COVID.
The increase in the new variant of Coronavirus, which is sizeable, gives rise to fear that this new fast-spreading strain might lead to a wave of infections that might impact the healthcare system in the United States by straining the same.
While it is still being said as evidence that Omicron does not lead to severe illness, if there is a surge in infections, it could lead to cramping up of the hospitals with patients requiring hospitalization.
According to Bloomberg News, CDC has said that a surge in Omicron-related infections is being anticipated depending on a pattern that has been manifested across the globe. Some pockets have been reported in the US where Omicron-driven infections make up entire infections among people. The Omicron variant estimates reveal that it makes up 92% of cases in New York and New Jersey, estimates of CDC state, and 96% in Washington.
The United States is urging eligible people to receive the vaccination and look out for booster shots to ward off the new variant. Monday, Moderns Inc, stated that a third dose of the vaccine that they have produced was able to increase the level of antibodies against the new variant, and Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said that a third dose of the vaccine manufactured by them was able to neutralize the effects of Omicron.
There are other prevention methods like wearing masks indoors and testing at home that can help in minimizing the transmission of the new variant, as per a CDC report, Bloomberg News says.
The new variant Omicron has compelled many business entities to give a second thought about returning to office mode once again and organizing events like investor meetings. Last week, JPMorgan Chase & Co decided to shift its annual conference on healthcare online. Similarly, World Economic Forum is planning to conduct its meeting in Davos, Switzerland, decided to defer.
