Likely behind the trending but misleading “white lung” phrase: a fear that cases of pneumonia of an “unknown origin” in China have spread to European countries, and to the U.S.
The omicron variant of COVID-19 has swept across the U.S. landscape faster than any previous variant, leading to increased precautions to try and slow the spread.
It s unclear whether omicron causes milder illness than other versions of the coronavirus, but scientists say the sheer number of infections due to its high transmissibility could further overwhelm hospitals.