U.S. infectious disease expert: Spread of omicron variant inevitable

Cases of infection with the omicron strain of the new coronavirus in the United States have not yet been identified, but its spread is inevitable, Report informs, citing TASS that this statement was made by the director of the National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases of the United States, Anthony Fauci.

“It is inevitable that sooner or later [the omicron strain] will become widespread, because at least its molecular characteristics indicate that it has a high spread rate,” said the infectious disease specialist.

“Of course, we still know little about it, but I think that a lot will become clear in the next week or two.”

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 coronavirus strain found in southern Africa with the Greek letter omicron. This variety has a large number of mutations, some of which are of concern to WHO.