The Omicron Covid-19 variant is raising concerns amid the holiday travel season, but there's no need to panic just yet, experts say
CNN
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is raising the concerns of health officials amid the busy holiday travel season, but there is no need to panic just yet as the potential impact of the newly detected strain remains unknown, experts say.
"Any time we've seen a new variant, it's already spread around the world. So the fact that Omicron is in multiple countries in Europe, in the US, is not necessarily an ominous sign. And I think that's a key point to keep in mind," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN's Jim Acosta Saturday. "And also remember we've not seen any evidence that Omicron produces more severe disease than any of the other variants."
The Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa, was deemed a variant of concern by the World Health Organization Friday -- sounding a heightened alarm globally over the state of the coronavirus pandemic, which has spanned nearly two years.
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