PAHO: Omicron to become dominant variant in Americas shortly

By GISELA SOLOMON
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — The Pan American Health Organization says it expects omicron to become the predominant coronavirus variant in the Americas in the coming weeks, where confirmed cases have reached record levels. The health agency added Wednesday that although healthcare systems face challenges with rising hospitalizations, vaccination has meant that COVID-19 deaths have not increased at the same rate as infections. Agency Director Carissa Etienne said cases across the Americas cases almost doubled to 6.1 million on Jan. 8, from 3.4 million cases on Jan. 1. The number is up 250% from the same period last year. The omicron variant has been detected in 42 of the 56 countries and territories of the Americas.