Ómicron: first measurements by the new variant of covid-19 3:14
(CNN) -
US health officials are urging Americans not to be complacent and use all the tools at their disposal to prepare for the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was recently deemed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.
The overall global risk related to the newly discovered new coronavirus strain B.1,1.529 "is assessed as very high," the WHO said in a technical report on Monday.
Experts are now looking to determine the answers to these three critical questions:
• Do omicron mutations make it more transmissible?
• Is it more severe / dangerous / deadly than other variants?
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• Is it more resistant to vaccines?
It may take weeks before we have the answers.
Meanwhile, US travel restrictions on flights from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi went into effect overnight.
The omicron variant was first identified in South Africa and has been detected in several countries.
So far, no cases have been confirmed on US soil, but the variant has been detected on the Canadian border, and experts say it will likely appear soon in the United States.
Since much is still unknown about omicron, officials say vaccines and boosters remain the best protection available.
Right now, about 59.1% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and about 19.1% of fully vaccinated people have received a booster dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. of Diseases (CDC) of the USA.
WHO: The overall risk related to the omicron variant is assessed as "very high"
What is the risk of the new variant of coronavirus called omicron?
1:29
What does the arrival of the omicron variant mean
The omicron variant reinforces the need for vaccination, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN on Sunday.
"We have to use all kinds of tools in our toolbox to prevent (omicron) from getting into a situation that makes this worse," he said.
"It also means that we have to pay attention to those mitigation strategies that people are really fed up with, like wearing masks indoors with other people who might not be vaccinated and maintaining that social distancing problem," he added.
"I know America, they really are tired of hearing these things. But the virus is not tired of us. And it is changing shape."
Collins also appealed to those who have not yet been vaccinated: "If omicron is one more wake-up call, then let's wake up. And come on, America, they can do this. These vaccines are safe, they're effective. People have been. Using for more than a year, more than 200 million people have been vaccinated, this is something you want for yourself, your family, your community, "he said Sunday on Fox News.
The warnings about the renewed omicron threat come as Americans have grown weary of nearly two years of precautions and are returning from a Thanksgiving break in which air travel approached pre-levels. pandemic.
The omicron variant puts the world in a 'race against time', says the president of the European Commission
New omicron variant: what do we know so far?
1:36
The United States Faces a Critical 2-Week Schedule
President Joe Biden is expected to give an update Monday on the United States' response to COVID-19, the White House said Sunday after Biden met with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Diseases and other members of the covid team.
"Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide some degree of protection against severe cases of covid, "the White House said.
As for immediate recommendations, the White House said the covid team is recommending boosters for all eligible vaccinated adults.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is a wake-up call by saying let's put aside all these differences that we have and say, 'If I'm not vaccinated, I'll get vaccinated.' If you're fully vaccinated, go for a booster," he said. Fauci to NBC News on Sunday.
If tests show that antibodies from a person who has been vaccinated can neutralize the omicron variant of the virus, then "we are in very good shape," Fauci explained.
"If it seems that even with a high antibody titer it is not, then what you have to do is change and modify what the vaccine will be, which you can do quite easily," Fauci said.
Do current omicron vaccines work?
Moderna hopes to know in a couple of weeks if the new omicron variant affects the effectiveness of its vaccine, its medical director said Sunday.
If the company finds that it needs to switch and produce a new vaccine, Moderna is working on several approaches, including one that would be specific to the new variant, said Dr. Paul Burton.
"On our platform, we can move very quickly. We believe that in a few weeks or maybe two or three months we could have an omicron-specific booster vaccine available for testing and then for administration," he said.
"This is going to go as fast as possible, but now we have to do careful [scientific studies]. We don't want to take a wrong step."
BioNTech, the German company that partnered with Pfizer to make a COVID-19 vaccine, is also investigating the impact of omicron on its vaccine, with data expected in the coming weeks.
Johnson & Johnson said it is also testing the effectiveness of its omicron vaccine.
Inequality and hesitancy to get vaccinated made the omicron variant more likely, scientists say
US travel restrictions go into effect for the new variant
Since the variant was first identified in South Africa, it has also been found in Botswana, Belgium, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hong Kong.
The United States now restricts travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Several other countries around the world have introduced similar measures.
While the Biden administration believes the variant will likely appear in the United States, it put travel restrictions to buy time as health experts work to learn more about omicron's potential impact.
But on Sunday, the US Travel Association urged the Biden administration to reconsider the restrictions.
"Covid variants are cause for concern, but closed borders have not impeded its presence in the United States, while vaccines have proven to be incredibly durable. That is why the United States travel industry is a vocal advocate that everyone receives a vaccine, "the association said in a statement.
"With a requirement for vaccinations and tests to enter the US, we continue to believe that assessing a person's risk and health status is the best way to welcome qualified global travelers to the United States."
Meanwhile, passengers who arrived at Newark International Airport on a direct flight from Johannesburg on Sunday morning described the impact of global travel restrictions.
Kyle Bogert, from Hoboken, New Jersey, told CNN that the rest of his family was still stranded in South Africa because their connecting flight through Dubai was canceled as they headed to the airport.
"In the news you hear that all these variants appear in different places and you hear that airports are closed ... it is something that is in the back of your mind until you are there and you are trapped there, or your family is trapped there," said.
Bogert said passengers on his flight were recommended to get tested for COVID-19 "within three to five days," but noted that his departure from his flight was otherwise "normal."
- CNN's Nikki Carvajal, John Bonifield, Michael Nedelman, Frederik Pleitgen, Naomi Thomas, Pete Muntean, and Sarah Fortinsky contributed to this report.
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