Omicron variant now 73% of US Covid-19 cases

US battles testing demands during holiday travel season as 'variant of concern' cases jump from 12% to 73% in seven days

In an aerial view, cars queue at a drive-through Covid-19 testing site at Tropical Park in Miami, Florida. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron

Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the US, accounting for 73 per cent of new infections last week, federal health officials said on Monday.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed a nearly six-fold increase in Omicron’s share of infections in only one week.

In much of the country, Omicron’s prevalence is even higher, responsible for an estimated 90 per cent of new infections in the New York area, the South-East, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific North-West.

Since the end of June, the Delta variant has been the main variant causing US infections.

As recently as the end of November, more than 99.5 per cent of coronavirus cases were caused by Delta, CDC data show.

Scientists in South Africa first sounded the alarm about Omicron less than a month ago and on November 26, the World Health Organisation designated it as a "variant of concern". The variant has since shown up in about 90 countries.

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  Medical staff take care of a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit at the University Medical Centre Magdeburg in Magdeburg, eastern Germany. AFP

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  Pedestrians on a pedestrian crossing in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan. AP Photo

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  Worshippers at the first of nine daily dawn masses before Christmas day at the St Joseph parish church in suburban Las Pinas city, Philippines. AP Photo

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  The queue for a Covid-19 test at St Vincent's Hospital drive-through testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. EPA

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  US President Joe Biden meets members of the White House Covid-19 Response Team to discuss latest developments related to the Omicron variant in the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, DC. Reuters

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  A mobile testing site near the NYU campus in New York. AP Photo

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  Outdoor tables at a restaurant on Old Compton Street in Soho, London. PA

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  A balloon vendor and Christmas shoppers in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. PA

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  A healthcare worker prepares a dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP

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  Medical staff prepare an isolation ward for Covid-19 patients at a government hospital in Chennai, India. AFP

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  Residents of the Soweto Home for the Aged social distancing during breakfast in Johannesburg. AP Photo

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  Skiers ride a lift line on Mount Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. AP Photo

Much about the Omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes more severe illness. Early studies suggest those who have been vaccinated will need a booster shot for the best chance at preventing Omicron infection but even without the extra dose, vaccination still should offer strong protection against severe illness and death.

“If you’re going to interact with society, if you’re going to have any type of life, Omicron will be something you encounter, and the best way you can encounter this is to be fully vaccinated," said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security.

Mr Adalja said he was not surprised by the CDC data showing Omicron overtaking Delta in the US, given what was seen in South Africa, the UK and Denmark.

He predicted it would spread over the holidays, including causing breakthrough infections among the vaccinated and serious complications among the unvaccinated that could stress hospitals already burdened by Delta cases.

The CDC’s estimates are based on thousands of coronavirus specimens collected each week through university and commercial laboratories as well as by state and local health departments. Scientists analyse their genetic sequences to determine which versions of those Covid-19 viruses are most abundant.

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  Children walk through the settlement of Vlakfontein outside Johannesburg in South Africa. Although children under 12 are not taking part in the country's Covid-19 vaccination campaign, cases in young children are on the rise since the discovery of the Omicron variant. AP

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  People wearing face masks to protect against Covid-19 cross the Concorde square in Paris. The World Health Organisation says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant, but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease. AP

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  President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the state dinning room at the White House in Washington. The US president and the vice president held a meeting with members of the White House Covid-19 Response Team on the latest developments related to the Omicron variant. EPA

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  Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, attends a Covid-19 meeting at the White House. EPA

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  People wait in line to get tested for Covid-19 in Times Square, New York. AFP

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  The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been detected in at least 19 US states. Health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated and receive their booster shots. AFP

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  Leonardo Velasco, 4, reacts as he receives a dose of the Sinopharm vaccine in Caracas, Venezuela, Reuters

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  People wear face masks as they ride a bus after the first case of the Omicron variant was detected in Pakistan. The case was reported in a private hospital in Karachi by a patient with a history of international travel. EPA

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  A health care worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Johannesburg, South Africa. Reuters

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  A medical worker holds a sign for visitors to prepare for coronavirus tests at a temporary screening clinic in Seoul, South Korea. AP

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  A child waits to receive a dose of the Sinofarm vaccine in La Paz, after Bolivian President Luis Arce authorised the vaccination of children between five and 11 years old. AFP

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  Ice skaters take a selfie on the ice rink at the Natural History Museum in central London. AFP

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  A health professional points to a Christmas tree made with Covid-19 and flu vaccine vials at the Public Health Basic Unit 'Ernani Agricola' in the Lapa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP

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  Skaters, most wearing face masks to combat the spread of coronavirus, skate on the ice rink at the Natural History Museum in London. AFP

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  A medical worker prepares a Moderna vaccine on the first day of the re-opening of a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Merignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, France. AFP