Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, warned Tuesday that it “wouldn’t be surprising” if a new COVID-19 variant emerges in the winter.
Speaking at an event with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, Fauci said pandemic trends such as hospitalizations are declining nationwide, but challenges are still ahead.
“We should expect that it is very likely that another variant will emerge that evades the immune response gained from infection and/or vaccination,” Fauci said, noting that the risk of increased respiratory disease is always present. Note that there is during the winter.
Last winter, a variant of Omicron led to a spike in cases, and multiple sublineages have spread since then.
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“Remember, we were on the right track for summer 2021. Delta showed up in summer 2021. And winter 2021 – November, December 2021 – Omicron appeared. I did.” he said.
The White House and health officials are encouraging eligible Americans to get the latest Omicron-specific booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine.
Fauci noted that vaccines are directed against major circulating variants.
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BA.5 is the common variant, accounting for more than 81% of cases, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million people in the United States and infected more than 96 million.
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Over the past day, there have been over 42,000 new cases and 542 new deaths.