Just three weeks after it was first discovered in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that the highly transmissible omicron variant is the dominant variant in the United States, representing 73% of new coronavirus cases, as of Dec. 18.
The variant has now been detected in all but two states — Oklahoma and North Dakota. In some parts of the country — including the New York, New Jersey area, much of the South, the upper Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest, the omicron variant now accounts for more than 90% of new cases.
The significant increase is 70% higher than just one week ago, and more than 72% higher than two weeks ago, when omicron, also known as B.1.1.529, was estimated to account for just 0.4% of all new cases.
In an ABC report the the CDC said in a statement on Monday, that they knew layered prevention strategies can slow the spread of COVID-19 and a sharp rise in omicron was expected.
The World Health Organization and the CDC have both identified omicron as a variant of concern.
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