The Omicron coronavirus variant is estimated to have taken over the virus’s Delta variant as the most prevalent strain contributing to new COVID-19 infections, accounting for 58.6 percent of all strains actively circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has drastically revised an earlier projection of new Omicron variant infections.
CDC officials significantly reduced estimates for the week ending on Dec. 18 that had erroneously indicated a nearly six-fold increase in the Omicron variant’s share of infections in only one week. The figures showed that the newly detected variant accounted for roughly 73 percent of new infections nationwide.
