Omicron to be dominant in EU by next month, official says

The omicron variant of COVID-19 is expected to become the dominant strain in European Union nations as early as next month, according to a top official.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the 27 nations that make up the EU will likely see a majority of omicron infections by mid-January as the virus continues to surge in Europe, The Associated Press reported.

Von der Leyen noted that while nearly 66 percent of the EU’s population is fully vaccinated, she expects that the new variant will disrupt the holiday season.

“Like many of you, I’m sad that once again this Christmas will be overshadowed by the pandemic,” she reportedly said.

She also explained the EU’s struggle with an increase in coronavirus cases due to the delta variant in addition to omicron.

“We’re seeing an increasing number of people falling ill, a greater burden on hospitals and unfortunately, an increase in the number of deaths,” she reportedly told European Parliament lawmakers. “And what I’m concerned about is that we now (are) seeing the new variant omicron on the horizon, which is apparently even more infectious,” she said.

Dr. Jenny Harries, head of the U.K. Health Security Agency, also noted her concern over omicron’s increased growth rate, the AP noted.

“The difficulty is that the growth of this virus, it has a doubling time which is shortening, i.e. it’s doubling faster, growing faster,” Harries told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, according to the news service. “In most regions in the U.K., it is now under two days. When it started, we were estimating about four or five.’’

Harries added that she believes omicron is “probably the most significant threat we’ve had since the start of the pandemic,” according to AP.