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CDC: Omicron now 73 percent of U.S. COVID-19 cases

Virus Outbreak US
Steven Senne/AP
FILE - Licensed practical nurse Yokasta Castro, of Warwick, R.I., draws a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at a mass vaccination clinic, May 19, 2021, at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Mass. While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn't finished wreaking havoc in the U.S. There is much that is unknown about omicron, including whether it is more contagious than previous versions, makes people sicker or more easily thwarts the vaccine or breaks through the immunity that people get from a bout of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Virus Outbreak US
Posted at 6:07 PM, Dec 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-20 19:58:38-05

NEW YORK — Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Federal health officials said on Monday that omicron accounted for an estimated 73% of new infections last week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in the proportion of infections in only one week.

Since the end of June, the delta variant has been the main version causing U.S. infections. Scientists in Africa first sounded the alarm about omicron less than a month ago.

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