CDC Confusion: Omicron 95 Percent of Coronavirus Strains, Up from 22 Percent

People line up for Covid-19 testing in Times Square on January 4, 2022, in New York City.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated the omicron variant now accounts for 95 percent of coronavirus strains as of January 1.

While omicron has defied the CDC’s past infectious calculations, 95 percent is an increase from December 18, when the CDC estimated 22 percent of all infections were due to omicron.

The CDC revised its data last week. Breitbart News reported December 29:

The CDC guessed the omicron variant accounted for 73 percent of all cases during the week ending December 18. On Tuesday (Dec. 28), the number for that week was reduced to 22.5 percent, a massive reduction from 73 percent two weeks ago.

The CDC surmised 59 percent of all infections during the week ending December 25 were due to omicron.

CDC representative Jasmine Reed told Politico the discrepancy was due to a miscalculation of the omicron transmission rate.

According to the CDC, the delta variant has taken a back seat to omicron, accounting for only 4.6 percent of infections within the United States.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø

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