Confirmed Omicron cases jump by a third overnight: Experts warn it’s just the tip of the iceberg and US will be hit with ‘perfect storm’ TRIPLE whammy of new variant, Delta AND flu
- Experts warn that Omicron, Delta and the flu may cause simultaneous outbreaks in the U.S. – causing a triple-pandemic this winter
- Some warn that in the wake of the Omicron variant, Americans who are not yet boostered should return to the early pandemic lifestyle of social distancing
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Omicron cases in the U.S. continue to increase – up 32 percent day-over-day on Thursday – and experts are warning the variant will only spread over time. Some even say that people who have not yet received their Covid booster shots might have to return to early-pandemic life to keep themselves safe.
The Delta variant is still the dominant Covid strain in the U.S., accounting for around 97 percent of sequenced cases. Omicron is quickly making up ground, though, with the newly discovered variant jumping seven-fold from making up 0.4 percent of cases to 2.9 percent of case. There have been 319 confirmed and reported cases of the variant so far, up from 241 yesterday. The flu, which largely vanished last year, is making its comeback as well.
Early data also shows that people who are only fully vaccinated, but have not yet received their booster, are still extremely vulnerable to the virus. Booster shots have been deemed effective against the variant, though, with both Moderna and Pfizer revealing data in recent days showing their vaccines will cause massive increases in antibody levels.
Only around 16 percent of Americans have received the additional vaccine dose so far though – as they were not widely available until late November – meaning that more than 80 percent of Americans are at risk from Omicron.
Dr Chris Thompson is an infectious disease expert at Loyola University of Maryland. He told DailyMail.com on Thursday that people who have not received their booster dose yet may want to bring back some early pandemic habits like social distancing, masking, frequent hand washing and more.
‘The data that I’ve seen says that you’re about 33 percent protected after a two dose regimen of either of the mRNA vaccines [the Pfizer or Moderna shots] and we don’t have good data from Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine yet. Then if you get your booster you look like you get back up into the 75 percent protection range and for preventing disease
Whether Delta or Omicron, U.S. is experiencing yet another surge of Covid cases during the holiday season. The nation is recording 121,188 new cases every day – a 40 percent increase over the past two weeks. Deaths are making a sharp rise as well, up 34 percent to 1,302 per week. The number of Americans hospitalized with the virus increased over the past 14 days as well, up 21 percent to 68,079.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that the situation will only worsen as well. The agency released forecasts on Wednesday night showing that weekly Covid cases will increase by 55 percent to 1.3 million per week – or 185,714 per day – by Christmas. It also predicted deaths with jump by 73 percent to up to 15,600 per day by early January – or 2,228 deaths per day.
Dr Thompson says that the Omicron variant will likely take over the U.S.’s dominant strain within the coming months, but how soon will depend on the behavior of Americans.
It’s hard to predict because so much depends on our behaviors,’ he said.
‘Travel and holidays and everything else [will affect Omicron spread], but since a fair number of people have received their booster and a lot of people are being more cautious, I’m hopeful that we can delay [Omicron overtaking Delta] for a while.’
He also said that it is likely that Omicron and Delta both continue to cause outbreaks across the U.S., just in different areas. In parts of the country where vaccination remains low, the Delta variant will continue its rampant spread. In areas where people are protected from Delta by the vaccines, the Omicron variant will manage to take hold.
Some areas of the country are already reporting sharp increases in cases. Jackson Health System, in Miami, Florida, reports that its Covid test positivity rate has reached seven percent – after only one percent of cases were coming back positive in November.
Experts are warning that being fully vaccinated, but not boosted, is not enough to protect a person from the new mutant strain, with some even warning that people who have not yet received their booster shots – which is over 80 percent of Americans per CDC data – should return back to early pandemic habits like social distancing.