The Omicron COVID-19 variant might not be as prevalent as previously thought. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is adjusting down its estimate of the variant’s infection rate.
The CDC now believes Omicron is responsible for about 59 percent of new cases in the United States last week. That’s down from the agency’s previous estimate of 73 percent.
Not every COVID test goes through genetic sequencing to determine which variant caused it, so it’s extremely difficult to pinpoint how many cases each variant causes. Also, many covid infections never get tested at all.