The delta variant continues to be the predominant variant in the United States, representing 96% of cases in the country, compared to 3% for omicron and 1% for other mutations, although health authorities expect the second to continue expanding in the upcoming weeks.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English), Rochelle Walensky, stressed in a press conference that there are parts of the United States where the percentage of omicron cases is even higher, such as in New York and New Jersey, where it reaches 13%.
“Looking at the preliminary data on omicron infections in other countries, we expect to see that the proportion of omicron cases here in the US will continue to grow in the coming weeks,” said Walensky, adding that this variant has been detected in at least 36 states in the country.
During the press conference of the White House task force against the pandemic, experts insisted on the importance of vaccines and receiving the booster dose.
“We have been saying that you have to be vaccinated, you have to receive the booster dose, especially with the data that is coming out that says that the booster is being really useful with both delta and omicron,” said the director of the CDC, who did emphasize that other measures must not be forgotten.
Walensky considered that we must continue to wear a face mask indoors, closed places must be ventilated, we must maintain social distance and wash hands.
The coordinator of the White House task force against covid-19, Jeff Zients, also remarked that the US is not going to close its economy again if covid infections increase.
“We are going to keep the schools, the businesses open,” he settled.
The United States, the country in the world most affected by the pandemic, exceeded 800,000 deaths from covid-19 on Tuesday and already registers more than 50 million infections.
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