Posted on 11/27/21
| News Source: FOX News
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday morning that he would not be shocked to learn that the COVID-19 omicron variant is already in the U.S.
In an interview on NBC's "Weekend TODAY" show, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director told co-hosts Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander that the strain has a large number of mutations that would suggest it could potentially evade immune protection and that scientists can predict it will be more transmissible.
"We don't know that yet, but you have to be careful and assume that that's the case. It also has a bunch of mutations that would suggest it could evade the protection, for example, of monoclonal antibodies and perhaps even convalescent plasma for people who've been infected and recovered and possibly vaccine. These are all ‘maybes,’ but the suggestion is enough," he said.
The chief medical adviser to the president said that the variant of concern's ability to infect the vaccinated and those who have recovered from infection "make us say this is something you got to pay really close attention to and be prepared for something that serious."
Though it "may not turn out that way," Fauci noted, the U.S. was trying to "get ahead of it" despite the unknowns.
"So, in real terms, Dr. Fauci, do you believe that omicron is already here in the U.S., likely?" asked Alexander.
"You know, I would not be surprised if it is. We have not detected it yet. But, when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you're already having travel-related cases that they've noted in Israel and Belgium and in other places – when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go, essentially, all over," he replied.