Fauci Warns Omicron Variant Will Likely Strain U.S. Hospitals

The Omicron variant already accounts for the majority of cases in the U.K. It has been detected in 89 countries, the World Health Organization said Saturday. Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant, the agency said, including in countries with high levels of population immunity.

Some early data has suggested that the Omicron variant might cause less severe disease than Delta, yet public health and infectious disease experts caution that it is too early to tell. Hospitalizations are continuing to rise in the U.K. and South Africa, according to the WHO, and even if the variant does end up causing slightly milder disease, its rapid spread could still quickly overwhelm hospitals.

“When you have so many, many infections, even if it is less severe, that overcomes this slight to moderate diminution in severity,” Dr. Fauci said. “Our hospitals, if things look like they are looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people.”

European countries are imposing new restrictions. The Netherlands reimposed a lockdown Sunday, closing nonessential shops, bars and restaurants until mid-January. Germany will ban travelers from the U.K. starting Monday, and Ireland announced new restrictions including a curfew for pubs and restaurants.

Dr. Fauci said on ABC News that he didn’t anticipate the U.S. moving toward broad shutdowns. “I don’t foresee the kind of lockdowns that we’ve seen before, but I certainly see the potential for stress on our hospital system,” he said.

Americans who have received booster shots can still feel comfortable traveling this month to see family, as long as they wear masks in airports and on planes, Dr. Fauci said. But he suggested only gathering with other vaccinated people or getting tested in advance of gathering with unvaccinated people. People should also get tested three to five days after exposure to someone who tests positive for Covid-19, he said.

Waiting times for tests are growing in some parts of the U.S. amid rising demand ahead of the holidays, and at-home, rapid tests are getting harder to find on store shelves and online in some parts of the country. The government is investing in making Covid-19 tests more widely available, and they should be easier to find later this month, Dr. Fauci said.

As of Dec. 11, the Omicron variant made up an estimated 3% of sequenced Covid-19 cases in the U.S., and 13% in the New York and New Jersey area, according to projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But Omicron is moving quickly, with an estimated doubling time between two and three days. The CDC variant proportions are updated once a week on Tuesdays, so the proportion of Omicron cases in some parts of the U.S. is now likely much higher.

President Biden on Tuesday plans to deliver remarks on the status of the country’s fight against Covid-19, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a tweet Saturday.

The U.S. is now averaging more than 125,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, according to CDC data. Hospitalizations are rising as well, with a seven-day average of more than 7,700 new admissions a day. Deaths are averaging more than 1,100 a day, CDC data show.

—Bertrand Benoit and Jennifer Levitz contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at [email protected] and Brianna Abbott at [email protected]