{"id":143758,"date":"2021-12-20T13:31:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T17:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=143758"},"modified":"2021-12-20T13:33:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T17:33:50","slug":"fauci-says-omicron-variant-is-just-raging-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/fauci-says-omicron-variant-is-just-raging-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Fauci says omicron variant is `just raging around the world\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(AP) \u2014<\/p>

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The COVID-19 omicron variant is \u201cjust raging around the world,\u201d Dr Anthony Fauci, White House\u2019s top medical adviser said Sunday as President Joe Biden prepares to issue \u201ca stark warning of what the winter will look like\u201d for unvaccinated Americans.<\/p>\n

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Fauci, the country\u2019s leading infectious disease expert, told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that \u201cthe real problem\u201d for the US hospital system is that \u201cwe have so many people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>

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The prospect of a winter chilled by a wave of\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0infections is a severe reversal from the optimism projected by Biden some 10 months ago, when he suggested at a CNN town hall that the country would essentially be back to normal by this Christmas.<\/p>

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Biden has been careful not to overpromise, yet confidence in the country has been battered by an unrelenting wave of COVID-19 mutations and variations that have left many Americans emotionally exhausted, dispirited and worried about infections.<\/p>\n

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Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tried to defend the president\u2019s earlier promise in a separate interview Sunday on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d<\/p>

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\u201cThe idea about hoping and having an aspiration to be independent of the virus after a period of time is understandable and reasonable,\u201d Fauci said. \u201cBut the one thing that we know from, now, almost two years\u2019 experience with this virus is that it is really very unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The administration is expecting a series of breakthrough infections with the surge of holiday travellers. Fauci said most people who have been vaccinated and gotten a booster should be fine if they take precautions such as wearing masks in crowded settings including airports.<\/p>

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Fauci was asked on CNN whether he expected a record numbers of cases \u2014 and what about hospitalisations and deaths. \u201cYes, well, unfortunately, I think that that is going to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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Biden plans to speak Tuesday on the status of the fight against COVID-19 and discuss government help for communities in need of assistance, White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.<\/p>\n

She also said he will be \u201cissuing a stark warning of what the winter will look like for Americans that choose to remain unvaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n

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