Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director at the CDC, stated that there is an omicron variant. the coronavirus has “over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough” ahead of the holidays.

Walensky said to CNBC’s, “The News with Shepard SmithOn Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it was “examining” its definition for fully vaccinated. The agency currently defines “full vaccination” as being two weeks following the last dose of any of its two-shot vaccines. ModernaOder PfizerTwo weeks or less after receiving the one-dose vaccination from Johnson & Johnson.

Walensky stated that vaccinations may not be able to prevent infections, based on data available. She said this means people need “to continue to wear their masks to prevent the infections overall.”

Omicron has been the predominant variant in the U.S. making up 73% of all reported cases. Walensky said based on omicron’s growth rate she “anticipated this number would be about this high at around this time.”

The CDC director said there have been reported deaths from omicron, “although there have been a minority of them, fewer than we’ve seen for other variants so far.”

Walensky advised vaccination and booster shots as the best prevention against death saying those who are boosted are “20 times less likely to die than our unvaccinated” population. Moderna announced Monday that its booster shot was available. is effective against omicronHowever, it plans to continue creating a specific shot variant.

Ahead of the holidays Walensky recommended for families that are gathering to get tested, “to make sure … that people are not gathering when they have a symptomatic infection.”