Delta still the current variant of concern amid omicron spread

(ABC 6 News) – The omicron variant has been identified in 21 U.S. states and 50 countries.

Dr. Greg Poland with Mayo Clinic says it is only a matter of time before it is in every state.

He says omicron, now the 5th variant of concern is more different than any other variant of concern.

"And we start to see cases and people say ‘well I don’t know if we need to shift policy, we don’t want to lock down, we don’t want to impose mandates, people won’t accept it, we don’t want to make those kinds of decisions.’ and then boom. Inside of a month or so we’re in a phase that is now overwhelming and can’t be contained. It’s exactly what we saw with alpha, it’s exactly what we saw with delta, it’s exactly what we’ll see with omicron," Dr. Gregory Poland, Professor of Medicine & Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic said.

Dr. Poland says the current and present threat in the United States is the delta variant, but the growing threat is omicron.