Dec. 22, 2021 -- Amid rising cases of the contagious Omicron variant, household members should trial for COVID-19 earlier gathering for the holidays adjacent if everyone who attends is vaccinated and boosted, says CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD.
“You’ve heard maine accidental before: We cognize what works against COVID-19, and it’s critically important we instrumentality our proven multilayer prevention strategies,” Walensky said astatine a White House briefing connected Wednesday. “Get vaccinated, get boosted, deterioration a disguise successful nationalist indoor settings successful areas of important and high-risk assemblage transmission, and instrumentality a trial earlier you gather.”
The Omicron variant skyrocketed from 3% of COVID-19 cases successful the United States to 73% successful a week, the CDC reported.
Walensky said that fig has grown to astir 90% successful immoderate Eastern Atlantic states, parts of the Midwest, the South, and Northern Pacific states.
The accelerated summation successful home cases mirrors what wellness authorities person seen worldwide, with Walensky noting that the velocity of transmission is arsenic expected. Given that, the wide quality of the Omicron variant means a perchance unsafe vacation play that should beryllium approached with caution, she said, and the astir important happening is that radical gathering instrumentality arsenic galore precautions arsenic possible.
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“Holiday gatherings and hazard of question truly has little to bash with the airplane oregon car ride, and overmuch much to bash with however radical from antithetic households behave successful the weeks to days earlier gathering up,” Walensky said. “Importantly, see gathering with household and friends who are besides practicing akin due prevention measures.”
Walensky besides stressed the value of getting afloat vaccinated and boosted. Those who are unvaccinated person a 10 times greater hazard of investigating affirmative for COVID-19 and a 20 times greater hazard of dying from the microorganism than those who are vaccinated with a booster, she said.
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients besides reported that the Biden medication has pre-purchased 10 cardinal courses of Pfizer’s antiviral drug, which was approved for exigency usage by the FDA connected Wednesday, arsenic good arsenic 3 cardinal courses of Merck’s antiviral medication, which is expected to get the FDA’s greenish airy successful the coming days.
Some of the monoclonal antibody treatments person been deemed ineffective for treating Omicron, Anthony Fauci, MD, manager of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said astatine the briefing. Still, caller probe retired of Scotland aligns with information from South Africa that indicates milder illness from Omicron than different variants.
Fauci echoed Walensky’s proposal to trial up of the holidays, adding that indoor household gatherings should beryllium small.
“An other level of extortion would beryllium the testing,” helium said.
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