The BA.2 subvariant of ómicron already accounts for 72% of Covid cases in the US

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national public health agency

confirmed on Monday that the

of omicron is estimated to affect almost three out of four cases of coronavirus in the country.

Overall,

cases in the

have fallen sharply after reaching record levels in January, but a resurgence of cases in

and

has raised alarm that another wave of the pandemic could follow.

The country's health experts, however, believe that is unlikely.

The average weekly number of

cases in the

was 26,106 on April 1, slightly lower than the 26,309 the previous week, according to data from the

(

)

.

The highly transmissible

for 72.2% of

cases in the

on April 2 , up from nearly 57.3% the previous week, according to CDC estimates.

This variant accounts for about 86% of all sequenced cases globally, according to the

.

It is known to be more transmissible than the

and

subvariants of

;

however, the evidence to date suggests that it is not more likely to cause serious illness.

Amid waning immunity and the risks posed by

health regulators

have authorized a fourth dose of the

and

vaccine for those over 50, as well as for younger people with immune systems .

compromised immune systems.

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• covid 19

• Omicron variant