The Rapidly Spreading Omicron Variant Is An Under Reported Disaster
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The Omicron Variant of COVID-19, first discovered in South Africa, has been rapidly spreading across the United States in recent weeks. Testing lines are brutally long, at home testing is impossible to find, daily average cases are higher than ever, and it is with absolute certainty that those case counts are very well under reported. We’re finding ourselves in situations that are akin to the early months of the pandemic in March and April of 2020. The Omicron Variant is an under reported disaster, while it affects millions of people, their jobs, and the economy as millions across the country continue to spread COVID-19 every single day.
Omicron Takeover
As the Delta Variant raged for months on end, it is nearing a total wipeout by the new Omicron Variant. In late December 2021, the CDC published a study that shows the jump from Delta being 99% of cases, to the Omicron Variant surpassing Delta with Omicron accounting for nearly 60% of cases in the week leading up to December 25th, 2021.
The CDC has also reported on December 20th that the Omicron Variant has “increased transmissibility” and is able to “evade immunity conferred by past infection or vaccination.” While it has been proven to be more “mild,” no one should be careless and seemingly ignoring any precautions. It is important to state that it is only “mild” for the fully vaccinated and especially if you’ve received your booster shot. This is especially true with unvaccinated as they are twenty times more likely to die from COVID-19. The dangers of this variant are still real. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s resulting in underreporting even at record reported numbers.
The reported case numbers do not even come close to the real number of positive tests. According to John Hopkins University on December 28th, 2021, the United States reached an average of 254,496 reported cases over the course of a week.
