Omicron Now 75% Of New Infections

Laura Coates Live

CNN

News

4.2 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2021

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The rapidly spreading Omicron variant now accounts for 75% of new Covid cases. With only 61% of the country fully vaccinated and 18% boosted as people gather for Christmas, President Biden gives a new speech about the steps we can all be taking now, and issues some dire warnings for the unvaccinated.

Plus, Democrats face an uncertain path as Joe Manchin rejects ‘Build Back Better, the Pentagon issues rules to fight extremism in the military as a retired U.S. general warns of a 2024 insurrection and Harvard University suspends the SAT and ACT requirements for the next 4 years.

Guests: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Charlie Dent, Major General Paul D. Eaton and Bob Schaeffer.

Hosted by Michael Smerconish.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The news continues, so let's hand it over to Michael Smirconish and CNN tonight.
0:06.3	John, thank you for that.
0:07.3	I am Michael Smirconish.
0:08.7	Welcome to CNN tonight.
0:10.3	It's Winter's Eve.
0:11.8	A new season literally setting in along with this virus.
0:15.8	We're all done with COVID, but COVID isn't done with us.
0:19.1	And that's why President Biden is about to address our pandemic weary nation tomorrow
0:24.1	to try and jolt us into action for this new front in the war with Omicron on the
0:28.8	March.
0:29.8	Omicron has just become the most dominant variant in the U.S. the CDC is reporting at
0:35.6	accounts now for almost three quarters of new cases.
0:39.4	A month ago, I'd never heard of Omicron.
0:42.2	The first detection here was December 1st.
0:45.1	And now here we are 19 days later, it accounts for three out of four new cases.
0:50.9	So with this new variant, quickly taking hold, the White House says this Biden speech
0:55.6	is not going to be about locking the country down, but rather about what to expect in
1:00.4	these winter months, what steps we can all be taking now, and some dire warnings for
1:05.5	the unvaxed in particular will Biden's new warnings resonate.
1:10.2	Remember, he campaigned on ending this pandemic, but nearly a year into his presidency, even
1:15.0	with the miraculous vaccines, COVID is still raging with a vengeance.
1:19.9	We're hearing now that some of his advisors are encouraging him to alter the messaging
	...

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