While no cases of the Omicron variant have been found in the U.S., Biden health officials held a series of meetings over the past two days to plan for cases of the variant and possible spikes in disease across the country
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top Biden health officials have reviewed a limited set of data on Omicron in coordination with international officials in South Africa and Israel, focusing on the degree to which the variant can spread. | Alex Brandon/AP PhotoThe emergence of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has sparked urgent conversations among top Biden administration health officials about how to fend off a potential new surge in the U.S.
There is plenty still unknown about Omicron, including where and when it first emerged and whether it causes severe illness. But the variant already has the potential to upend the global pandemic response and undo progress that's been made containing Covid-19. “One thing is clear is that [Omicron] is very transmissible,” Fauci said. “The reason you close the borders is to buy you time so you can better prepare and learn more about the variant, its transmissibility, its potential evasion of immune responses, and its seriousness of disease it causes.”
The emergence of Omicron has also raised new concerns among international officials and health representatives about the need to get shots in arms quickly in low-income countries, such as those in Africa, in the next several weeks. A person queues to be tested for Covid-19 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2021. As the world grapples with the emergence of the new variant of Covid-19, scientists in South Africa — where omicron was first identified — are scrambling to combat its spread across the country. | Jerome Delay/AP Photocollected by Bloomberg. Health experts have said 11 billion doses are needed to crush the Covid-19 pandemic.
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