Dr. Anthony Fauci On The Omicron Variant, The Delta Variant, And Travel Advisories

WAMU 88.5 | By Chris Remington

Published December 7, 2021 at 4:35 PM EST

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Public health officials continue to monitor the spread of the omicron variant in the United States. So far, the new strain of the virus has been detected in 19 U.S. states. Preliminary data from the South African Medical Research Council suggests that while omicron may be highly transmissible, the severity of illness is not as high as previous variants.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, spoke earlier this week on CNN’s State of the Union, saying, “Clearly [omicron’s] becoming the dominant variant in South Africa. The question for us, now that it’s clearly here in the United States, is what is it going to be as it competes with the very dominant variant delta?” said Fauci.

Meanwhile, Fauci and members of the Biden administration are facing criticism for the U.S. travel ban on eight African countries. He has indicated the ban may soon be lifted given the virus is increasingly widespread across the globe.