Description
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said omicron has “over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough.”
Summary
- CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the omicron variant of the coronavirus has “over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough” ahead of the holidays.
- Even so, Walensky said that vaccines “may not prevent infection” according to data so far.
- Omicron has become the dominant variant in the U.S. making up 73% of all reported cases.
- Walensky said based on omicron’s growth rate she “anticipated this number would be about this high at around this time.”
- The CDC director said there have been reported deaths from omicron, “although there have been a minority of them, fewer than we’ve seen for other variants so far.”