Researchers are feverishly working to better understand the variant, which reportedly has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein that is pivotal in gaining access to healthy cells, top scientists said on Sunday.
"Right now, what we have is we have the window into the mutations that are in this new variant, and they are troublesome in the fact that there are about 32 or more variants in that very important spike protein of the virus, which is the business end of the virus," Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC's "Meet the Press."
Fauci said the variant's profile "strongly suggests" it will have an increase in transmissibility and that it might evade some immune protection from treatments like monoclonal antibodies and the protection of vaccines themselves.
However, Fauci noted omicron, which was labeled as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization , is still relatively unknown and requires more research.
"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?"
Dr. Francis Collins , the director of the National Institutes of Health , said the emergence of omicron is "certainly not good news" on CNN's "State of the Union," but added, "We don't know yet how much of an impact this will have."
Most cases in South Africa were reportedly among younger people and ended up prompting mild symptoms. However, scientists noted cases are normally milder among younger individuals, regardless of vaccination status, the New York Times reported. Meanwhile, cases have been precipitously rising in South Africa , the report said, and many of those cases are recent and therefore would be unlikely to have reached a point of severe illness.
Less than 25% of South Africa's population is vaccinated, according to data managed by Johns Hopkins University , compared to around 70% of the entire population of the United States .
Fauci and Collins both said the variant should encourage unvaccinated individuals to receive the jab and for vaccinated people to receive a booster.
"It ought to redouble our efforts to use the tools that we have, which are vaccinations and boosters, and to be sure we're getting those to the rest of the world, too, which the US is doing more than any other country," said Collins.
Fauci said that while vaccinations do not eliminate the chance of being infected, the risk of severe illness is significantly lowered after being immunized — even among variants of concern.
"It may not be as good in protecting against initial infection, but it has a very important impact on diminishing the likelihood that you're going to get a severe outcome from it," he said. "A lot of whether or not we are headed into a bleak winter is going to depend on what we do."
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