Omicron: Fauci says US should 'prepare for the worst' as fifth wave of COVID-19 possible

Amid rising global panic over Omicron, US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said that Americans need to be prepared to do “anything and everything” to fight the new COVID-19 variant. Speaking on ABC’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday, 29 November, Fauci said that it is “too early” still to say whether lockdown or new mandates will be appropriate. He, however, added that the United States just really need to “prepare for the worst”. The Omicron variant had first appeared in a specimen collected on 9 November and was reported from South Africa, as per the WHO. The new strain has already been discovered in several countries, including the UK, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Israel and Hong Kong. No confirmed cases had been reported in the US as of Saturday, however, the nation has imposed a ban on travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, and additionally the US State Department has formally warned Americans against travelling to South Africa and seven of its neighbours. On Sunday, Fauci said, “Inevitably, it (Omicron strain) will be here. The question is will we be prepared for it? If and when, and it's going to be when, it comes here hopefully we will be ready for it.” 'Prepare for the worst' The US infectious disease expert met with US President Joe Biden to discuss the variant and the administration’s response. Speaking to ABC News, a White House official informed that during the meeting, Fauci said that while it will take about two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he believes existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection. Fauci also reiterated that booster shots for fully inoculated individuals provide the strongest available protection from COVID-19. Further, the top US official emphasised that adults and children who are not yet fully vaccinated should get the jab immediately. He said that unvaccinated people should also get available COVID-19 vaccinations, per the recommendations of the CDC. "We just really need to, as I've said so often, prepare for the worst. And it may not be that we're going to have to go the route people are saying," Fauci told ABC, adding, "We'll make decisions based on the science and evidence as we always do." The Omicron variant has been deemed a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the WHO. A WHO official said that researchers are investigating the source of the virus that led to the recent spike in the African country, AP reported. Currently, experts are worried about how fast it may spread and whether it will cause people to become sicker than the existing delta strain of the virus. US might experience a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections Dr. Anthony Fauci also warned that the US might enter a fifth wave as the worries over the Omicron variant looms. "We certainly have the potential to go into a fifth wave," he told CBS News' "Face the Nation." "And the fifth wave, or the magnitude of any increase, if you want to call it that it will turn into a wave, will really be dependent upon what we do in the next few weeks to a couple of months," he added. (Image: AP/PIxabay)

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Omicron: Fauci says US should 'prepare for the worst' as fifth wave of COVID-19 possible

Amid a global panic over Omicron, Fauci said that Americans need to be prepared to do “anything and everything” to fight the COVID-19 variant.

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