Omicron accounts for 73 percent of new US cases

Staff Reporter: Omicron has become the dominant strain in the United States, surpassing Delta and other coronavirus variants and making up 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said on Monday (December 21). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in Omicron’s share of infections in only one week. In much of the country, omicron’s prevalence is even higher. It’s responsible for an estimated 90% of new infections in the New York area, the south-east, the industrial midwest and the Pacific north-west. CDC’s estimates are based on thousands of coronavirus specimens collected each week through university and commercial laboratories and state and local health departments. Scientists analyze their genetic sequences to determine which versions of the Covid-19 viruses are most abundant. In the week that ended 11 December, Omicron’s share of new infections in the US increased to 2.9% from 0.4% the week before, the CDC previously reported. But CDC on Tuesday said it was revising some of the earlier numbers, after analyzing more specimens. The new numbers indicate that about 13% of the infections the week of 11 December were Omicron, and not 3%, CDC officials said. BP/SM