Chief medical advisor to the White House Dr. Anthony Fauci stated Tuesday that 226, cases of highly mutated Covid-19 variant omicron have been identified in 20 countries. However, U.S. officials are yet to confirm a case.

This variant was first discovered in South Africa around a week ago. It has over 30 mutations of the spike protein. This is the part that allows the virus to attach to cells, infecting the body. Scientists worry it could be more contagious than the delta variant which has caused an increase in infections around the world in the past months.

Fauci stated that “this mutational profile was very different from other variants and concern and even though some mutations can also be found in delta, it is not Delta.” Fauci spoke to reporters at a briefing of the White House Covid-19 taskforce. These mutations have been linked to increased transmission and immune evasion.

He said that there are many other variations of the virus scientists don’t yet know about and they could change the way the virus spreads.

In recent months, U.S. officials increased the pace of genomic sequencing Covid cases. They now sequence about 80,000 Covid samples per week, an increase of about 8,000 from earlier in this year. Dr. Rochelle Wilensky is director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to her, the U.S. Delta variant is still the dominant strain and accounts for 99.9% all sequenced cases.

Walensky stated at the briefing that “to be clear, we now have far more tools than we did last year to combat the variant,”

Fauci stated that it is too soon to know if the omicron variant will prove more fatal than the delta. The reports that South Africa had milder symptoms were from patients younger than usual, who are more likely to have milder Covid. They also refer to a limited number of cases.

It is difficult to say if the variant will cause severe illness. We don’t know if this variant will cause unusual symptoms, but some South African information suggests it. It is also too early to say.

Officials reiterated their call for increased vaccinations. They stated that the best way to prevent the varait was to be vaccinated and boosted, continue wearing masks, and to avoid the crowds.

How can we tackle omicron?” This has been said over and again. It’s worth repeating. Fauci says: “If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, you should get it. Get boosted. If you are vaccinated continue using the mitigation methods, namely masks to avoid crowds and poor ventilation.

Walensky claimed that the CDC still considers “fully vaccinated” as it was in its original definition. It’s still two weeks after the second shot of Moderna or Pfizer’s vaccines or one of Johnson & Johnson’s. However, she stated that as the virus continues to evolve, it’s more important to strengthen immunity. She stated, “As the science develops, we will examine whether it is necessary to revise our definition of fully immunized.”