<Anchor> As more
and more countries are locking their doors like this, the United States has also imposed a ban on entry for foreigners in some countries. Experts in the United States are divided over whether the vaccine currently available will be effective against Omicron, but it seems that it will take another two to three weeks for an answer to come out.
This news came from Washington correspondent Yunsu Kim.
<Reporter>
White House Chief Medical Adviser Fauci, who is the highest authority on COVID-19 in the United States, predicted that Omicron has already landed in the United States.
He also feared that existing vaccines might not work.
[Pouch / White House Chief Medical Adviser: If you look at the characteristics of the Omicron mutation, it is analyzed that it is more contagious and can evade immunity obtained by vaccines, etc.]
The opinions of the US National Institutes of Health were mixed.
It was expected that the existing vaccine was effective against several mutations from alpha to delta, and it would be no different for Omicron.
For now, the two agreed that a booster dose of the vaccine is the best option.
[Collins/Director of the National Institutes of Health: A booster dose of the vaccine boosts the immune system's ability to recognize all different kinds of mutations. Today is a very good day for a booster dose of this vaccine.]
U.S. health officials are analyzing the difference in Omicron infection rates between 37% of South Africans who have received the vaccine and those who have not been vaccinated.
The United States has banned entry of foreigners from eight African countries, including South Africa, from today to buy time to respond to Omicron.
However, as two cases of Omicron infection have been confirmed in Canada, concerns are growing that the spread of Omicron will be in full swing in North America.
(Video coverage: Park Eun-ha, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin)