Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

It's not clear yet if Omicron is a milder variant. But its rapid spread is certain to overwhelm hospitals, experts say

It's not clear yet if Omicron is a milder variant. But its rapid spread is certain to overwhelm hospitals, experts say

The research is still early on the virulence of the Omicron coronavirus variant -- but what's abundantly clear, according to experts, is that it's poised to spread rapidly across the US and will likely overwhelm a battered US health care system.

The variant is expected to become the "dominant strain" in the coming weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.

And after nearly two years of a pandemic that has caused more than 800,000 deaths in the US and overloaded hospitals, the omens aren't favorable for the next few months, experts say.

"Even if (Omicron) is less virulent than earlier strains, if we have a point where we're seeing a half-million cases a day or more, we are going to swamp our hospitals -- even with a relatively low rate of hospitalization," said CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences. "When you have that kind of denominator, our hospitals will be completely underwater as they are in some parts of the country."

Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN's Jim Acosta Saturday, "We are going to see a lot of health care workers get sick," pointing to the potential for breakthrough infections.

"Even though they're not going to be severely ill, they're going to be knocked out of the health care workforce," he said. "And that's going to present yet another big stressor on the system."

It's still too soon to assume Omicron will cause milder disease, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

"We still don't really know -- and there's some controversy about this -- whether Omicron causes the same kind of severity of disease or whether it's a somewhat milder form of the illness," Collins told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Data from two weeks of South African cases appeared to indicate Omicron was milder in severity. The CDC said last week it looked at 43 cases and most of those people had mild symptoms. Most were vaccinated, with about a third of the total group boosted.

But UK epidemiologists said this week they found no evidence Omicron is causing milder disease there, although the Imperial College London team also said there was not much data to go on yet.

However, it's "clear that Omicron is an extremely contagious variant, that it doubles every two to four days," Collins said.

"The problem, of course, is if this is so infectious -- and we might see hundreds of thousands of cases every day, maybe even a million cases in a day from Omicron -- even if it's a little less severe, you are going to have a lot of people in the hospital and our hospitals are already really stretched with Delta, especially in the northern part of the country," Collins said.

"What we would like to see, though, is as many people as possible protecting themselves with vaccines and, especially, with boosters, in order to limit the consequences," he said.

Hospitals are already feeling the impact


Overall, the US on Friday was averaging 121,707 new Covid-19 cases each day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Fourteen states saw an uptick of at least 10% in cases over the past week compared to the previous week, the data shows.

About 68,900 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 20% of all ICU beds in use are occupied with Covid-19 patients, the data shows.

California health officials said Friday they were seeing hospitalization numbers begin to trend upward, stressing the need for vaccinations and booster vaccines. In New York, officials said they're seeing the highest hospitalization rate they've recorded in months, with Gov. Kathy Hochul noting that the staff shortages will weigh into potential new restrictions.

On Thursday, New York state had the highest single-day count of new cases with 21,027, according to data released Friday.

In New Jersey, "we're seeing long lines outside of our testing clinic, more demand than we've seen in many months for testing, because folks are getting sick," Dr. Shereef Elnahal, president and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, told CNN's Amara Walker.

Hospitalizations have doubled over the last two weeks, he said, and although 46% of those hospitalized earlier this week had been vaccinated, they had not had a booster shot.

People not only need to get vaccinated, but they also need to get a booster, Elhahal said, "because what we're seeing is just not sustainable."

Dr. Marc Gorelick, who heads Children's Minnesota hospital, said the facility is already struggling to cope with the numbers.

"When you're on top of a surge where you're already at 90%, 95% capacity, those extra ... preventable Covid patients coming in are the thing that pushes the system to the brink. And that's what we're seeing here in Minnesota," Gorelick told CNN's Kate Bolduan on Friday.

It got so bad that hospital leaders in Minnesota took out a full-page newspaper ad this week to say they were overwhelmed by the pandemic.

"It feels like you are drinking from a fire hose with no way to control that flow," Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday. "I have been practicing for 25 years in the emergency department, and every shift I am working these days is like the worst shift in my career."

In Oregon, officials forecast a grim early 2022.

"We can expect a surge in Oregon hospitalizations by mid-January, with infections that begin sooner than that," said Dr. Peter Graven, a data scientist for Oregon Health and Science University. "Combined with its heightened transmissibility, we expect Omicron will generate a large increase in the number of Oregonians that will become severely ill and likely need a hospital."

Restrictions, cancellations are making a swift return


The US has fully vaccinated just over 61% of its total population, with about 29% having received a booster dose, according to the latest CDC data. According to CNN's analysis, at the current pace it will take more than two months for half of US adults to get a Covid-19 booster.

As cases climb and anxiety about Omicron grows, school officials and event organizers across the country -- but particularly in the Northeast -- have moved to reinstate restrictions or cancel events altogether.

Harvard University on Saturday became one of the latest schools to announce a shift to remote learning for some in response to "the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases locally and across the country, as well as the growing presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant."

In a letter to the community, university officials said students must be authorized by their schools to return to campus for the first three weeks of January, while faculty and staff who can should work remotely. The aim, the letter said, was to "reduce density on campus by moving much of our learning and work remotely."

In Maryland, Prince George's County Public Schools will shift to remote learning beginning December 20 through January 18 due to "the stark rise in COVID-19 cases throughout (their) school system," according to a Friday statement from the school district's Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson.

The University of Maryland canceled its winter commencement ceremonies, noting that all social gatherings on campus where mask wearing could not be strictly enforced should follow suit. Final exams will be conducted in person, but students and faculty will be required to wear a university-provided KN95-rated mask, it said.

In New York, the Radio City Music Hall's Rockettes canceled their "Christmas Spectacular" show. And "Saturday Night Live" announced in a tweet it was canceling its live studio audience for Saturday's taping of the show.

Michigan State University and New York's Hofstra University both said Friday that students and staff will be required to have booster shots for start of the spring semesters.

In Hawaii, a ceremony that was slated to celebrate the end of the state's National Guard's Joint Task Force on Covid-19 was canceled, and the governor's office said the task force is being reestablished due to Omicron.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×