are just different, they have somehow mutated, but for our purposes as humans who don t want to get it or don t want it to spread, they may not be as concerning. how do you figure that out? those are studies that need to be done in the laboratory, initially. there are two ways to answer the question. one way which features study of the virus in a laboratory. this is why, as we re identifying cases, it s really important that we culture, we grow the virus. we actually begin to grow the virus so we can study it. a lot of this information we can get from doing studies in the laboratory. in addition to that, we can get some information based on epidemiology, based on the number of infections and where the infections are occurring and being able to see how the virus is being passed or transmitted from person to person. so those are public health studies that can also be done to answer these questions. but the immediate information, the information that we can get within, say, four to six
boosted when you can, and our colleague, peter alexander, in the briefing just now, asked dr. fauci, what if i m an american who is wondering should i wait for a new booster if they re going to work on one that s specific for omicron. and dr. fauci said very clearly, i would not wait, i would go get your booster immediately, because it s possible as they go through that process, they determine that special kind of booster may not even be what s required for this new variant. there s simply still a lot we don t know. that was the takeaway from dr. fauci. again, the message from the white house, this is something to follow but not something to create panic all over the country. dr. torres, i got boosted on sunday and thought to myself, should i wait until we find out more about this variant and whether or not there will be a change in the vaccine or a change in what sort of booster i should be getting. i decided to get one anyway. what would your advice be? and katy, that s exactly w
0 the president was asked about this earlier this week and he said that had not been recommended to him. you re his chief medical adviser. do you think that s something the country should adopt? i m not so sure we should say that should be a requirement. we have 60 million people in this country who are not vaccinated, who are eligible to be vaccinated. let s get them vaccinated, let s get the people who are vaccinated boosted, let s get the children vaccinated. that s where we want to go as opposed to a requirement. reporter: some people say you have extinguished many of your options to get those people vaccinated and this is one of the ways, as the osha mandate is held up in court, this would be a way to get more people you know, that s a possibility. but for the people who are listening to this, we talk about why it s important to get vaccinated. i think what s happening now is another example of why it s important for people to get vaccinated who have not been vaccinated, b
potential threat. there is a lot we don t know. the cdc amped up its advice on vaccine boosters. the old world is that anyone 18 and older may get a booster. joins us to talk boosters, possible new versions of the vaccines, and a pill the company has been testing to treat covid. first, cnn s athena jones on why this variant has become so troubling so quickly. reporter: tonight, the president calling for calm. this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. reporter: as omicron, a new coronavirus variant, first detected in south africa, spreads around the world. this is a new wrench that s been thrown into the fight against covid. it s certainly not good news. reporter: raising new, urgent questions. we don t know everything we need to know about this new variant, yet. we don t know, yet, what the level of severity will be. reporter: omicron has at least 50 mutations, including some shared with the highly
give you the power of sd-wan and advanced security integrated on our activecore platform so you can control your network from anywhere, anytime. it s network management redefined. every day in business is a big day. we ll keep you ready for what s next. comcast business powering possibilities. where s mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don t worry sweetie, she promised she d be here for it. oh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity. with wifi speeds faster than a gig. me too. [claps] woah! look! [chuckles] mom is on tv! she s amazing! [screams and laughter] yeah! xfinity brought us together after all. get started with xfinity internet and ask about wifi speed fast than a gig. click, call or visit a store today.