Thread by @PeterHotez

Many thanks to Jim @Acosta for hosting me ⁦@CNNSitRoom⁩ room this evening. I explained why the Omicron variant is of concern but why the sky is not falling, as far as I can tell. Here’s why…

First, Omicron from the reports I've seen so far does not appear to cause more severe disease than alpha or delta, it's not the Andromeda strain.

Second, while the numerous mutations in the spike protein + RBD concerning, we do not know yet if this translates into immune escape. The scientists at our @TexasChildrens Center for Vaccine Development are now looking to see if our recomb protein vaccine will neutralize Omicron

Third, so far variants of concern that are partially resistant to vaccine-induced immunity have not really taken off. For example, B.1.351 the Beta variant (remember that one?) from ZA never accelerated globally. Same with Lambda from South America

Fourth, therefore our worst global COVID variants are those which are highly transmissible, alpha, later outcompeted by delta. So the big question is whether Omicron can outcompete Delta, and we'll know more in the coming week(s).

Fifth, in the meantime the delta variant in unvaccinated or under vaccinated populations is one of the leading killers in America. 41% of the US population remains unvaccinated, including kids and adults who are defiant. Also waning immunity from 2 mRNA doses - get your booster

Sixth, those who are infected and recovered still need to get vaccinated to become more resilient against the variants. So rather than focus on travel restrictions that probably won't do much (because they haven't previously) focus on vaccinating the American people

Finally, remember that Omicron like Alpha/Delta arose from an unvaccinated population. Had G7 leaders committed to vaccinating the African continent we would not be having this discussion. There's not enough mRNA/adeno to vaccinate Global South, but lots of our protein vaccine