CDC sharply drops estimate of Omicron prevalence in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly revised its model of the breakdown of Covid-19 variants on Tuesday, estimating the Omicron strain accounted for about 58.6 percent of U.S. cases as of Dec. 25.
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The public health agency's previous estimate that the rapidly spreading variant accounted for 73.2 percent of cases nationwide on Dec. 18 is now revised down to 22.5 percent -- a significant drop that falls outside the agency's earlier 95 percent ["]prediction interval["], or likely range where future analysis will fall, of 34 to 94.9 percent [BWAH!] of all cases.

Setting aside the question of how the initial estimate was so inaccurate, if CDC's new estimate of #Omicron prevalence is precise then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations we're seeing from Covid may still be driven by Delta infections. https://t.co/ZacVjEhk5x

— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) December 28, 2021