they have traced 13,000 people that attended an anime convention, and they attended that conference before testing positive, and peter mcginn joins me now. dr. eboni hilton is sticking around, but how are you doing today, how are you kneeling feeling today? i m great, i m 100% now. what were the symptoms like when you tested positive for the new strain. i had light fatigue, runny nose, sore throat for about a day. was there any thought to not attending the convention with tens of thousands of people in that space in new york city. there was a little bit, the guidelines that were set for the
of people who get tested test positive. and hopefully, do that sequencing to see how much of that is omicron. look, this was happening at the same time we were having 90, 100,000 cases a day so it won t be surprising if some people ultimately test positive. it will be unclear for a while how much of this is omicron spread, how much omicron is likely to be more of a superspreading virus than delta. all indications seem to be that it is more transmissible but we are still doing that science. the anime convention, as well as all the research that is happening in europe but especially in southern africa is going to give us a lot more clues in the coming days and weeks. dr. craig spencer, appreciate talking to you again. thank you. another bizarre day in court as the defense rests in the jussie smollett criminal trial. what the former empire actor said in court, next.
but we really got to be careful before we make any determinations. but thus far, the signals are a bit encouraging regarding the severity. reporter: and that s what one of the first known americans to contract omicron is saying tonight. 30-year-old peter mcginn telling the new york times that he attended this anime convention in new york city, along with more than 53,000 people. after flying home to minneapolis, mcginn telling the paper he felt unusually tired, and after learning a friend from the convention caught covid, he got tested. mcginn telling the times, quote, one guy had a bad day, but for the most part, mild symptoms for everyone. omicron s spread sending demand for the vaccine surging. it s at the highest level in seven months. almost 6 million people reportedly receiving a shot since friday, more than half of those were boosters. even with a new variant like omicron, if you get boosted, you re going to get your level up, way up. reporter: in louisiana,
severity. reporter: the symptoms were mild for 30-year-old peter mcginn from minnesota, who tested positive for omicron after returning from an anime convention in new york last month. he was fully vaccinated with a booster and was surprised. i was just a little taken aback to the fact that i, a, had covid, and b, it was the new one. reporter: mcginn suspects he was infected not at the convention but when he and a group of about 30 people, who were also vaccinated, socialized without masks. now half of that group has tested positive for covid. i felt perfectly safe with the people that i was with. and so it never really crossed my mind to think that i had covid. so it was more like those events outside of the con where i believe that the transmission took place. reporter: and new details tonight on that cruise ship that docked in new orleans. health officials suspect another case of omicron in a south african crew member. before disembarking, another 16 of the 3,200 fully vac
the impression like to be safe and doing our part got my mask, got my vaccination card, i m going to keep going on with life. reporter: and there s a lot we don t know, scientists are testing right now vaccine efficacy against this new variant. but they say it is one of our best defenses. especially the booster. increasing those antibodies can at least make it a milder case. so they re encouraging folks to go out and get the booster. and don t forget about the delta variant. that s still a big cause of concern and causing a lot of hospitalizations and deaths right now. there are appointments available, but you might need to plan a little bit ahead to get one of those appointments. lindsay? liz, thank you so much more that. and let s go ahead and put some of these questions to our medical contributor, dr. ebony hilton. doctor, good morning and thank you for being with us here. and we know omicron is spreading, but according to the new york times, the minnesota man who got the