Biden told it will take two weeks to have definitive data on Omicron
variant
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[November 29, 2021]
By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S.
infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told President Joe Biden
on Sunday it will take about two weeks to have definitive information on
the new coronavirus variant Omicron that has sparked new travel
restrictions and shaken financial markets.
Biden, returning to Washington following the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend, was briefed in person by his coronavirus response team on
Sunday afternoon as officials expect the new variant to reach the United
States despite an impending ban on travelers from Southern Africa, where
it was first detected.
Fauci said he believes existing vaccines are likely to provide "a degree
of protection against severe cases of COVID", and officials reiterated
their recommendation for vaccinated Americans to get booster shots,
according to a readout of the briefing.
Biden was due to update the public on the new variant and the U.S.
response on Monday, the White House said.
Omicron, which was first detected in Southern Africa, has now been
confirmed in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Denmark, Germany,
Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, and the
United States' neighbor to the north, Canada.
Earlier on Sunday, Fauci told ABC News' "This Week" that the new variant
would "inevitably" reach the United States.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/29/images/ads/current/guzzardos_sda_HFH_2021.png)
"It clearly is giving indication that it has the capability of
transmitting rapidly. That's the thing that's causing us now to be
concerned," he added on NBC.
U.S. officials were seeking more information from South Africa about the
new variant. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke to
South Africa Health Minister Joe Phaahla on Sunday, praising the
country's transparency, according to a readout of the meeting.
Its appearance in the United States, where 30% of the population has not
received a single dose of vaccine , could threaten to undermine the
nation's recovery nearly two years after COVID-19's emergence and
further pressure local healthcare systems already taxed by the recent
Delta variant.
Rising cases as colder weather forces more people indoors has also
caused some hospital systems and U.S. states, including New York, to
declare emergencies.
So far, nearly 782,000 people have died in the United States from
COVID-19 since early 2020, the most of any country in the world, amid
over 48 million infections, Reuters data show.
TRAVELERS BANNED, NOT FLIGHTS
The United States is joining other nations in seeking to block
transmission by imposing travel restrictions.
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET (0501 GMT) on Monday, it will bar entry of
nearly all foreign nationals who have been in any of eight southern
African countries within the last 14 days and has warned Americans
against traveling to those nations.
U.S. citizens and lawful U.S. permanent residents who have traveled to
the countries will still be able to enter the United States and no new
screening or tracing requirements have been introduced.
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![](../images/112921pics/news_h30.jpg)
People enter the baggage claim area from the international arrivals
terminal as the U.S. reopens air and land borders to coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) vaccinated travellers for the first time since
the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed, at Sea-Tac Airport in
Seattle, Washington, U.S. November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
![](../images/ads/current/centraldirect_lda_SPONSOR_2021.png)
Flights by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have
continued from South Africa to the United States since the variant
was discovered.
Fauci and other top officials said the sudden burst of cases made
Omicron worrisome and it remained unclear how current vaccines or
therapeutics could be impacted.
"We need more data there before we can say confidently that this is
not a severe version of the virus, but we should find that out in
the next couple weeks," outgoing National Institutes of Health
Director Dr. Francis Collins told "Fox News Sunday."
Vaccine makers Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have said they expect
more information soon.
"We have to go through a couple of weeks yet of uncertainty,"
Moderna Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Burton told CNN, saying
Omicron's transmissibility and severity were also still unknown
along with current vaccines' effectiveness against it.
'CLARION CALL' FOR SHOTS
Fauci pressed Americans to continue to get COVID-19 vaccines and
boosters while experts evaluate Omicron.
"This is a clarion call ... (to) get vaccinated," he told NBC.
The United States has recorded over 1.1 million new COVID-19 cases
in the last 14 days, up 9% from the prior two weeks, Reuters data
shows, with Michigan and Minnesota leading the nation in new cases,
based on infections per 100,000 residents.
The proportion of COVID-19 tests coming back positive in New York
state had doubled since last month to 4.23%, underscoring the need
for vaccinations, Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
"Cases are rising throughout New York State, and the new Omicron
variant poses a very real threat to the progress we've made," Hochul
said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/29/images/ads/current/atlantaNB_lda_HFH_2021.png)
The variant could cast a pall over the rest of the U.S. holiday
season and potentially impact companies' return-to-office plans.
(Writing by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose,
Chris Gallagher, Joel Schectman, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in
Washington; and Matt Scuffham, Megan Davies, Peter Szekely and
Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Stephen
Coates)
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