Omicron variant found in nearly one-third of US states

WASHINGTON — The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has spread to about one-third of US states, but the Delta version remains the majority of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections as cases rise nationwide, US health officials said on Sunday.����

Though the emergence of the new variant has caused alarm worldwide, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, told CNN��“thus��far it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it.” He added that it was too early to draw definitive conclusions and that more study is needed.����

Mr. Fauci, US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s chief medical adviser, said he also hoped the United States would lift its ban on travelers from southern African countries in a “reasonable period of time.” The South African government has complained it is being punished — instead of applauded — for discovering the new variant and quickly informing international health officials.����

Mr. Fauci, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” praised South Africa for its transparency and said the US travel ban was imposed at a time “when we were really in the dark” and needed time to study the variant.����

At least 16 US states have reported Omicron cases: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally.����

Many of the cases were among fully vaccinated individuals with mild symptoms, although the booster shot status of some patients was not reported.����

Despite several dozen Omicron cases, the Delta variant still accounts for 99.9% of new COVID cases in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle��Walensky��told ABC News in an interview.����

“We are every��day hearing about more and more probable cases so that number is likely to rise,” she said.����

The United States over the last seven days has averaged 119,000 new cases a day and lost nearly 1,300 lives to COVID each day, according to a Reuters tally.����

Louisiana currently has one Omicron case from an individual who traveled within the United States, its health department said on Sunday.����

On Saturday, it said a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd cruise ship set to dock in New Orleans with more than 3,000 passengers found 10 cases of COVID-19 on board.����

Officials said passengers on the Norwegian Breakaway, which stopped in Belize, Honduras and Mexico, would be tested and given the CDC’s post-exposure and quarantine guidelines.����

The emergence of the new variant has sharply curtailed the number of energy executives and government ministers planning to attend the four-day World Petroleum Congress in Houston this week, which had already been rescheduled from 2020.����

But travel restrictions and worries over the new variant saw energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Argentina, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Turkey and Romania – bowed out, WPC officials said on Sunday.����

Governors of two states with reported Omicron cases��—�� Connecticut��and Colorado — said they hoped their higher-than-average vaccination rates would blunt the impact.����

“We want to see how well the vaccinations hold up,” Colorado’s Jared Polis told ABC.����

As US Omicron cases emerge, COVID-19 vaccine makers aim to quickly tweak their shots to target the variant and US regulators have vowed speedy reviews, but that could still take months.����

“Certainly, FDA [Food and Drug Administration] will move swiftly and CDC will move swiftly,” Ms.��Walensky��said.����

Moderna Inc has targeted US approval of an updated vaccine as soon as March, but company officials on Sunday said it will still take time to increase output.����

Moderna Co-founder and Chairman Noubar��Afeyan��told CNN it would take another seven to 10 days to gather key data. Then, it “will take a good 60 to 100 days” to deploy an Omicron-specific shot, although other options like a higher dose of the current booster are being explored, he said.����

��US government officials are also working with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson on updated shots, while Pfizer and Merck & Co Inc are pursuing COVID-19 pill treatments. —��Matt��Spetalnick��and Susan Heavey/Reuters