Fauci: Omicron will infect 'just about everybody'

 Infectious disease expert and White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that “just about everybody” will eventually be infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus. 

“Omicron, with its extraordinary, unprecedented degree of efficiency of transmissibility, will, ultimately, find just about everybody,” Fauci told the Center for Strategic and International Studies during a “fireside chat.”

“Those who have been vaccinated and vaccinated and boosted would get exposed. Some, maybe a lot of them, will get infected but will very likely, with some exceptions, do reasonably well in the sense of not having hospitalization and death,” he added. 

The omicron variant was discovered in November and has since caused a surge in cases around the world, prompting some countries, states and cities to put restrictions back in place.

Omicron is the most transmissible variant to appear so far, but seems to cause fewer hospitalization and deaths than previous mutations of the virus. 

Fauci’s comment follows a similar remark he made at a Senate hearing Tuesday, where he said “it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is most people are going to get COVID.”

Although individuals who are vaccinated or have been previously infected with COVID-19 can contract omicron, hospitalizations and deaths are significantly higher among those who are unvaccinated. 

Hospitals around the country are becoming overwhelmed with cases as some states, including New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, have declared states of emergency to deal with the surge caused by omicron. 

In light of the new variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly considering recommending Americans wear higher quality N95 or KN95 masks.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/589344-fauci-omicron-will-infect-just-about-everybody