Fauci says the omicron variant will inevitably appear in the U.S.
November 28, 20211:25 PM ET
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor and the president's chief medical adviser, said on Sunday that it's inevitable that the omicron variant of the coronavirus will be detected in the U.S.
While no cases of the variant have been detected in the U.S. so far, there have been cases detected in Botswana, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Australia and Hong Kong.
"As we all know, when you have a virus that has already gone to multiple countries, inevitably it will be here," Fauci said on ABC's
This Week. "The question is: Will we be prepared for it?"
The omicron variant was labeled as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization on Friday, making it the first variant to be labeled as such since the delta variant emerged earlier this year.
Fauci stressed that a lot of the preparation for omicron is similar to that for the delta variant.