“What's driving the pandemic right now is the fact that we're probably only diagnosing somewhere between one and five and one in 10 actual infections.”
Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb on the current Omicron variant.
Published on
jan 10, 2022
- Based on the high number of infections, Dr. Gottlieb believes the epidemic of Omicron has peaked in some areas, such as the Northeast, while still yet to peak in regions such as the Midwest.
- The U.S. continues to break previous records for daily case counts. The seven-day moving average (what's used to smooth out inconsistencies or variations in reporting) has now topped more than 700,000 per day – the previous record was roughly 250,000 a day, according to Johns Hopkins University. "At least 40 states are currently at or near record case levels ..." - The Wall Street Journal.
- Why It Matters: While America has broken records for single-day cases of COVID-19, the exact number remains a mystery due to the unknown number of asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic cases spreading SARS-COV-2, a lack of testing options, at-home tests that never get recorded, etc. The question remains about how this rapid spread of Omicron will impact the pandemic overall - whether through potentially providing immunity against future or past variants, or becoming a factor for "long Covid" symptoms, hospitalizations and death.
Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on "Face the Nation," January 9, 2022
U.S. reports over 1 million new daily Covid cases as omicron surges
