legend who broke barriers and tributes pouring in after a fashion icon s tragic death. this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening with the world health organization warning of a very high global risk, president biden tonight says the omicron covid variant is cause for concern and not a cause for panic. here s what we know as we come on the air tonight. the variant first identified in south africa has now been discovered in more than a dozen countries, including canada, raising concerns about the speed of its transmission late today the cdc recommending booster shots for everyone 18 and over who is beyond six months of their initial doses. white house officials say it may be two weeks before key questions are answered, including whether the omicron variant can evade vaccines the president tonight reassuring americans that new lockdowns are off the table. our team is in place with the very latest, starting with gabe
work as well against it all three manufacturers in the u.s. are testing them right now. it s highly likely that there will be loss of vaccine efficacy and effectiveness. but whether we will really have to tweak the current vaccines, we just don t know we have to wait a couple weeks before we get the key data. reporter: moderna s chief medical officer says that omicron s specific vaccine could take months to manufacture. should americans start getting used to the idea that they may need a covid vaccine or covid booster perhaps every year, much like the flu shot i think so. these beta coronavirus viruses, we see this they become endemic. they just remain in societies. gabe, realistically, how soon can we expect to see a confirmed omicron case here in the u.s. reporter: very quickly, lester. the white house says the u.s. is sequencing nearly 80,000 samples per week, more than any other country, so it is only a matter of time, lester. all right