WACO, Texas — COVID-19 cases in Central Texas are slowly climbing.
In one day, there were 81 new reported cases and one death. Kelly Craine with the Waco-McLennan county public Health District said the cases are spreading fast.
Other health officials are fearful as vaccinations slow down and holiday gatherings start, the worst is yet to come. They said if you are fully vaccinated. your chance of a severe case is very low.
"We did have our first Omicron detected on Friday, late Friday," Craine said. "So, Omicron is here in McLennan county, and it's really a matter of time. We know this virus spread rapidly."
Places like New York City and Los Angeles are already seeing cases double due to the new variant. This leaves the NFL with the decision to postpone games.
Health experts said the new variant spreads in one to two days. The delta variant spread in five to 7 days. On Tuesday, President Biden took to the podium to address the nation's fears of what's next.
"We all want this to be over, but we're still in it and this is a critical moment," President Biden said. "We also have more tools than we've ever had before."
President Biden's new initiatives:
- 500 million free at-home testing kits
- New or expanded vaccination and testing sites
- deployment of service members to hospitals experiencing a surge
"If you're not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned. you're at a high risk of getting sick," Biden said. "Most everyone who has died from COVID-19 in the past many months has been unvaccinated."
