Don’t let omicron crash your holiday gathering

(Maria Godoy/ NPR) — Here we go again.

Just in time for the holidays, federal officials announced that omicron is spreading quickly in the U.S.

It could be the dominant variant in many regions by early January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it may already be a big presence in many places. For instance, it’s already causing more than 13% of cases in the New York and New Jersey area, the CDC estimated on Wednesday.

And Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, which does its own genomic sequencing, said Friday that 45% of its cases are now caused by omicron. (…)