A CDC spokesperson stated that the each day case whole is probably going an “overestimate” as a result of lagging state reporting.
“The counts of circumstances will develop into extra steady after the brand new 12 months,” CDC spokesperson Jasmine Reed advised POLITICO.
Officers logged greater than 291,000 new circumstances Dec. 20, practically eclipsing the earlier report of 294,015 set final winter, earlier than vaccines had been broadly obtainable. The U.S. averaged 240,408 new circumstances per day over the previous week, properly greater than double the speed in early December.
The CDC revised its estimate for Omicron’s prevalence earlier Tuesday, sharply chopping a earlier estimate that the variant accounted for 73.2 p.c of circumstances nationwide on Dec. 18 to 22.5 p.c.
The company’s newest modeling estimates Omicron made up about 58.6 p.c of U.S. circumstances as of Dec. 25.
The surge comes as many People collect with family members for the vacations, with information from the Transportation Safety Administration displaying air journey at ranges near pre-pandemic 2019 figures.
The rising caseload has prompted the Biden administration to roll out a plan to assist curb the variant, consists of delivering 500 free million in-home fast exams to People after beforehand declining to make exams free.
The administration has urged People to get vaccinated and boosted and in addition plans on establishing FEMA surge services and vaccination websites whereas getting ready to ship protecting gear and troops and medical staff to overburdened hospitals.
It isn’t but clear how Omicron’s severity compares to earlier variants, together with Delta, although officers have been optimistic that it could be much less extreme. However some public well being officers concern Omicron’s surge is once more straining the nation’s well being care system.