US coronavirus: Omicron concerns should spur millions of unvaccinated Americans to get their Covid shots, experts say

Omicron has raised concerns for health officials because there’s a possibility it could be more contagious than the original novel coronavirus strain, the WHO said, and it also has a significant number of mutations.

There have been no indications so far that the variant has made its way into the US, Fauci told CNN Friday. On Saturday morning, however, he told NBC he “would not be surprised” if the variant was already in the US, saying, “it almost invariably is going to go all over.”

The US variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in the past, the CDC said.

“We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.,” the agency said in a statement.

Vaccine makers are working to determine effectiveness against Omicron

Meanwhile, vaccine makers have disclosed they are taking action to address the emergence of a new variant.

Moderna is working quickly to test the ability of its vaccine to neutralize Omicron, the company said Friday, and data is expected in the coming weeks.

The strain includes mutations “seen in the Delta variant that are believed to increase transmissibility and mutations seen in the Beta and Delta variants that are believed to promote immune escape,” Moderna said in a news release.

“The combination of mutations represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the waning of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.”

If its current vaccine and booster are insufficient against the variant, Moderna explained that one possible solution is boosting people with a larger dose, which the company is testing.

The company is also evaluating two multivalent booster candidates to see if they provide better protection against Omicron — both of which include some of the viral mutations present in the variant. Moderna said it is also testing an Omicron-specific booster.

“For several days, we have been moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the news release.

Scientists at BioNTech, the German company that partnered with Pfizer to make its Covid-19 vaccine, are also investigating the impact of the variant on their shot, with data expected within the upcoming weeks.

A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told CNN in a statement the company was also testing the effectiveness of its vaccine against Omicron.

Covid-19 travel restrictions aren’t all that effective, experts say

The Biden administration’s decision to curtail travel from eight countries is a precautionary measure as the US government learns more about the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

But some experts say travel restrictions aren’t as effective as they may seem.

“Travel bans are modestly effective. They can obviously influence travel directly from that country to the United States,” said Schaffner, the doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“But obviously US citizens will be permitted to come back. They could bring the virus. And people could go from the country of interest, South Africa for example, and go to other countries that are not on the travel ban, and enter, if you will, by the side door. So travel bans are somewhat effective, but let’s not expect a miracle,” he said.

US citizens, lawful permanent residents and noncitizens who are the spouses of citizens or permanent residents are exempted from the new restrictions.

Dr. Megan Ranney, a professor of emergency medicine and Associate Dean of Public Health at Brown University, said universal vaccination requirements for all air travel would be more effective.

“Or having quarantines when people arrive in the U.S. from other countries. Neither of those are particularly politically palatable right now, but they would make a much bigger difference in the spread of this variant,” Ranney told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Friday.