Watch Now
NewsCoronavirus

Actions

Fauci says omicron variant is 'just raging around the world'

Virus Outbreak
Susan Walsh/AP
FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. U.S. health officials said Sunday, Dec. 5 that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations. President Joe Biden's chief medial adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN's “State of the Union” that scientists need more information before drawing conclusion's about omicron's severity. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Virus Outbreak
Posted
and last updated

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The White House's top medical adviser says the COVID-19 omicron variant is "just raging around the world."

And President Joe Biden is planning on Tuesday to give what his press secretary says is "a stark warning of what the winter will look like" for unvaccinated Americans.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says "the real problem" for the U.S. hospital system is that "we have so many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated."

The prospect of a winter chilled by a wave of coronavirus infections is a severe reversal from the optimism projected by Biden months ago when he suggested the country would be back to normal by this Christmas.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Global Coronavirus Tracker:

See map here
Data from The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.