Omicron variant seems less severe than earlier ones, WHO official says: LIVE UPDATES

"Fox News Primetime" host Tammy Bruce unmasked the ugly face of the fear-based Democratic agenda in her opening monologue Wednesday night. 

After a man set fire to and seriously damaged Fox News' All-American Christmas Tree early Wednesday outside its New York City headquarters. Bruce said the crime "is indicative of where our society indeed is headed under the carelessness and malevolence of Democrat leadership, where crime runs rampant and you are scared to leave your home."

"Fear is what the Democrats want to prevail," the host continued. "They want you to be afraid to live your life, too afraid to get involved or too afraid to stand up to them, certainly. And they are already failing with that goal." 

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The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal a President Biden-backed federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses.

The final vote was 52-48. Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana joined Republicans to vote in favor of the repeal.

Even with Senate approval, the GOP-backed resolution is unlikely to overturn the mandate. The Democrat-controlled House is not expected to take up the measure and President Biden would likely veto the bill if it cleared Congress.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging President Joe Biden's administration to extend the federal student loan payment pause beyond its January 2022 expiration date amid uncertainty surrounding the emerging omicron coronavirus variant.

The prominent Democrat cites a new Student Debt Crisis Center survey finding that 9 in 10 fully employed borrowers are not financially secure enough to begin making student loan payments in February. 

"If we don’t extend the pause on payments, then that horrendous interest will pile up at a time when too many are still not financially prepared to shoulder a giant monthly bill," Schumer said in a statement. "Moreover, with Omicron spreading, the uncertainty with what happens next demands at least one more extension of the student loan payment pause."

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tighter restrictions Wednesday to stem the spread of the omicron variant, urging people in England to again work from home and mandating COVID-19 passes for entrance into nightclubs and large events.

Johnson said it was time to impose stricter measures to prevent a spike of hospitalizations and deaths as the new coronavirus variant spreads rapidly in the community.

"It has become increasingly clear that omicron is growing much faster than the previous delta variant and is spreading rapidly all around the world," he said in a press conference. "Most worryingly, there is evidence that the doubling time of omicron could currently be between two and three days."

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Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel says evidence shows the COVID variant may have been around since 2020 but was too mild to be detected.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul sounded off on Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration for their response to the newly emerging omicron variant of COVID-19. On "America's Newsroom," Wednesday, Sen. Paul criticized Fauci for creating hysteria and fear, and noted that the scientist who discovered the variant called Biden's travel ban a "hysterical overreach." 

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A new study led by the Africa Health Research Institute reportedly suggests that the omicron COVID-19 variant escapes antibody immunity induced by two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

The initial South Africa data from 12 patients also showed that considerable immunity is retained in individuals who were fully vaccinated and had been previously infected. 

Six of the participants had no previous record of SARS-CoV-2 infection nor detectable nucleocapsid antibodies indicative of previous infection. 

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Florida and Illinois are the latest states to announce cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant in the country. 

The new cases were reported a day after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday during a White House briefing that 19 states had confirmed cases of the "variant of concern." 

In Florida, a case was detected at a Tampa hospital and officials are working to confirm another in St. Lucie County, Fox 35 reported.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that early indications suggest the omicron COVID-19 variant is potentially milder than previous strains. 

While much is still unknown about omicron, Fauci told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) it "almost certainly is not more severe" than the delta variant. 

"There is some suggestion that it might even be less severe, because when you look at some of the cohorts that are being followed in South Africa, the ratio between the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations seems to be less than with delta," he said, noting that populations being followed had skewed young and were less likely to be hospitalized due to the disease.

Omicron cases have been confirmed in at least nine African countries – and more than 50 countries around the world – with some officials also reporting that initial cases appear to be mild.

A preliminary study from scientists in South Africa, where daily cases of the omicron strain have spiked since mid-November, said that the variant was more likely to cause re-infections than previous variants. The study had yet to be peer reviewed at the time of release.

Fauci explained that omicron, or the "variant of concern," is "clearly highly transmissible." Still, the delta variant accounts for more than 99% of cases in the U.S., according to public health leaders. 

"The worst-case scenario is that it is not only highly transmissible, but it also causes severe disease and then you have another wave of infections that are not necessarily blunted by the vaccine or by people's prior infections," Fauci said. 

Although a more transmissible virus that doesn't cause more severe illness would be the "best-case scenario" according to Fauci, time and additional cases are necessary to determine the level of severity. 

He told AFP that while he does not believe that will come to pass, "you never know."

Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said that further laboratory experiments testing the potency of antibodies from current vaccines against omicron are expected in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that more robust protection was offered with a booster shot of the companies' vaccine. 

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla also said Wednesday that the third dose would be enough to "maintain protection" against omicron and that there was still "tremendous value" for those who have only gotten one or two doses of the vaccine.

"There is tremendous value compared to if you have only one or if you don't have any. Tremendous value. It might not be enough on itself, but we are waiting to see," he told NBC's "Today" show. "So, you may need to go to get the third booster faster and that's something that they have ... considered very carefully and make their recommendations. But, clearly, having two doses compared to nothing protects you way better than having nothing."

Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, during a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on drug prices. (Credit: AP)

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday that cases caused by the COVID-19 omicron variant seem milder than those caused by other strains.

The company has been studying the variant and on Wednesday Pfizer and BioNTech announced study findings that indicated the effectiveness of initial vaccine doses is significantly reduced against the variant.

Bourla told NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday that the company hopes to have more accurate data in coming weeks.

“I don’t think it’s good news to have something that spreads fast,” he said Tuesday, speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit. “Spreads fast means that it will be in billions of people and another mutation may come. You don’t want that.”

Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, during a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on drug prices. (Credit: AP)

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday morning that its booster shot would be enough to "maintain protection" against the omicron variant.

This comes after Pfizer and BioNtech said in a news release that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine "neutralize" the variant and that two doses "show significantly reduced neutralization titers."

"Data indicate that a third dose of BNT162b2 increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses against the omicron variant; titers after the booster dose are comparable to titers observed after two doses against the wild-type virus which are associated with high levels of protection," it said.

Speaking with host Savannah Guthrie, Bourla confirmed that his company found the effectiveness of the initial two shot regime was significantly reduced against the variant, but that a third dose "neutralizes" the variant of concern.

He said that three doses against omicron are almost equivalent to the two doses’ effectiveness against the original COVID-19 variant.

Bourla noted that his company is waiting to see "more accurate data," that is expected to come within a week or two.

“The current booster will be enough to maintain protection," he assured.

For those who have only gotten one or two shots of the vaccine, Bourla said there is still "tremendous value."

"There is tremendous value compared to if you have only one or if you don't have any. Tremendous value. It might not be enough on itself, but we are waiting to see," he told Guthrie. "So, you may need to go to get the third booster faster and that's something that they have ... considered very carefully and make their recommendations. But, clearly, having two doses compared to nothing protects you way better than having nothing."

Health officials are continuing to learn about the omicron variant that broke out in South Africa and put much of the globe on edge, but early indicators suggest that vaccines are largely effective and the mutation is not as severe as earlier strains. 

The BBC reported that early lab results show a “very large drop” in the effectiveness of Pfizer’s antibodies.

But Dr. Mike Ryan, the official from the World Health Organization, told the AFP that vaccines continue to be “highly effective” and there is “no reason to expect” that will change. 

He also said that the virus seems to be less severe than earlier strains.

Speaking at the White House COVID-19 Team briefing, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that there had been 12.5 million total coronavirus vaccine shots in arms last week – a number he explained was the highest weekly total since May.

"So, we're now vaccinating people in numbers that we haven't seen since the spring and that's critical progress as we head into the winter in front of the new omicron variant," he said.

The Biden administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged that American adults get COVID-19 booster shots – especially as the weather turns colder and news of confirmed omicron variant cases continues to spread.

Zients said that 55% of eligible seniors have been boosted and that five million children ages 5-11 years old have received at least their first COVID-19 shot.

This comes as CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky notes there are a daily average of 103,800 COVID-19 cases across the U.S.

"At CDC and across the government, we continue to remain focused on our efforts to address both the delta and the now omicron variants," she assured, though pointing out that more than 99% of cases continue to be from delta.

Omicron, the public health leader said, has been confirmed in 19 states, although that number is expected to increase.It's also been reported in more than 50 countries and Walensky assured that state and local health authorities were implementing contact tracing to monitor the "variant of concern's" spread.

"We must act together in this moment to address the impact of the current cases we are seeing which are largely delta and prepare ourselves for the possibility for more omicron," she said.

Current vaccines, testing, masking and ventilation "works" at least to provide some protection from omicron, according to officials.

Following Walensky, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci explained that "real-world" evidence would allow scientists to better understand omicron's severity and infectivity – though it is too early to determine those factors.

"But, inklings that we are getting – and we must remember these are still in the form of anecdotal, but hopefully in the next few weeks we'll get a much clearer picture…But, it appears that with the cases that are seen, we are not seeing a very severe profile of disease. In fact, it might be – and I underscore 'might' – be less severe, as shown by the ratio of hospitalizations per number of new cases," he said, as he flipped through slides.

"However, this could be influenced by the fact that many in this particular cohort are young individuals."

"The hospital stay seems to be less and the use of supplemental oxygen [seems] to be less. Again, I caution you, these are still preliminary," Fauci noted.

The White House chief medical advisor also cited a recent study by South African scientists that suggested omicron was more likely to cause reinfection than previous COVID-19 variants, though pointing out that indication was "without definitive proof."

Lastly, Fauci said researchers were working on animal and lab studies to evaluate immune protection and answer "some key questions."He warned later, responding to a question from CNN, that we "shouldn't be making definitive conclusions" on omicron and "certainly not before the next couple of weeks." -Julia Musto