Variant is set to rule, says Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Tuesday the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 will soon become dominant in the U.S., but early reports give hope it is not as dangerous as initially feared.

As omicron spreads exponentially, Fauci said the new variant has proved it will likely outcompete the virulent delta variant that is now the main strain pummeling the U.S.

“We’re just going to have to see when it comes in the United States,” Fauci said on CNN. “And for sure ... it is going to be dominant in the United States, given its doubling time.”

Fauci said a new study from South Africa, where omicron was first identified last month, suggests that the variant spreads far faster than other strains.

“They’re getting a very, very pronounced spread, almost a vertical spike of infection,” the pandemic doctor said.

Experts now say that omicron accounts for more than 90% of all new infections in South Africa, according to Discovery Health chief executive Dr. Ryan Noach.

Despite the rapid increase in cases, the study carried out by South Africa’s largest private health insurance company revealed that fewer of those infected are requiring hospitalization compared to previous waves of COVID-19.

And so far even fewer have required intensive care or died since omicron became the dominant strain in the country.

“It does appear that there is a diminution in the severity,” Fauci said.

U.S. health officials estimate that a small, but growing proportion of new COVID-19 infections are due to omicron, and that the rise is particularly dramatic in some places.

Two weeks ago, omicron accounted for less than 0.5% of the coronaviruses that were genetically sequenced in the U.S. That rose to about 3% last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.

But it varies from place to place, and is as high as 13% in the New York/New Jersey area, according to the agency.

Researchers around the world warn there’s still not enough data to draw broad conclusions about hospitalizations and the severity of disease caused by omicron.