Daily COVID-19 contaminations in the United States were on the rise due to the Omicron variant and on track to reach a January record, health officials said on Monday.
“We are clearly on a vertical push at the moment,” Anthony Fauci, senior White House adviser on the fight against the pandemic, explained on NPR public radio, commenting on data compiled by the New York Times.
The country recorded 214,499 new cases on Sunday, a jump of 83% on an average of 14 days, and is approaching the daily record of 251,232 positive cases reached in January 2021.
The daily average number of deaths also increased slightly over 14 days (+ 3%) with 1,328 deaths.
On December 24, the United States had exceeded the mark of 197,000 daily cases and recorded 1,345 deaths in the most bereaved country in the world (more than 800,000 deaths).
Several states such as Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico, have experienced an unprecedented increase in a period of seven days, adds the daily.
In New York, health officials have also seen an increase in the number of children hospitalized in connection with COVID-19.
The end of this push “is very difficult to predict,” added Dr Fauci. “We hope that it will reach a peak and come down like what we have seen in other countries like South Africa.”
In this country, where the Omicron variant was first detected, contaminations are down after having exploded. This is “perhaps due to saturation, that is to say that the variant has reached all vulnerable targets” such as unvaccinated people, who are still numerous in the United States, he said. .
The Omicron variant, which is more contagious than the Delta, however appears to be less dangerous for people who have received at least two doses of the vaccine, added Anthony Fauci.
“We hope that this lesser severity will prevent an increase in hospitalizations, but we are really very worried about the unvaccinated who are vulnerable,” he said.
The scientist also said he was unfavorable to a new vaccine campaign for a 4th dose, believing that boosters too close together did not allow the immune system to strengthen against the coronavirus.
“Right now, get the booster dose, don’t worry about a fourth dose and maybe you never have to worry about it,” he said.