As concerns continue to grow over the emergence of the Omicron variant, the demand for COVID-19 vaccines has skyrocketed in the U.S. as more Americans become eligible for booster shots.
On Thursday, there were 2.18 million doses of coronavirus vaccines administered by healthcare providers nationwide, according to the CDC.
That number was the highest single-day total since May of this year, the White House said in a press conference.
Since first being confirmed in southern Africa on Nov. 25, Omicron has been named a variant of concern by the World Health Organization as it contains more than 50 mutations.
Researchers are still looking to confirm whether or not the variant is more dangerous than past strains of the virus. Still, nonetheless, the Biden administration is continuing its vaccination efforts, following all U.S. adults becoming eligible for boosters on Nov. 19.
In October, around 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered every day, the CDC reported. By mid-November, that number was approximately 1.5 million, and now in the past three reporting days, it has neared or exceeded 2 million, the Washington Post reported.
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The current demand continues to soar because of the demand for booster doses, the CDC reported, and health experts continue to urge Americans to get boosted or vaccinated to protect themselves.
It was also reported by the Post that the increased interest in boosters is in part thanks to a clearer message around boosters being needed and that they are helping fight the virus.
As of Sunday, 15 U.S. states have reported cases of the Omicron variant, first being discovered in California and Minnesota at the beginning of this month.
Dr. Michael Osterholm shared that right now, there is a lack of severe illnesses caused by Omicron, which is good news. However, even with fewer severe cases, the strain could still cause problems.
“This is transmitting at a much, much higher rate than we have seen with Delta,” Osterholm said. “You may have fewer severe illnesses, but if you have that many more people infected, in the end, the impact can still be substantial.”
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While experts believe Omicron to be more transmissible than other variants, the Delta variant is still the top strain in the country.
Dr. Anthony Facui spoke on Sunday in a White House press briefing about what can be done to protect people from the new strain.
“Although we haven’t proven it yet, there’s every reason to believe that if you get vaccinated and boosted that you would have at least some degree of cross-protection, very likely against severe disease, even against the omicron variant,” Fauci said.
More information about Omicron and whether or not it can evade immunity provided by vaccines is expected to come out this week.
