The news on the pandemic tonight--
here in the US where Omicron has now peaked,
where it's still raging, and tonight, Dr.
Anthony Fauci on this new Omicron sub-variant
and what we know so far.
Here's ABC'S Kaylee Hartung.
KAYLEE HARTUNG: Tonight health experts are urging Americans
to stay the course with vaccinations
and masking, amid promising signs the country
is rounding the Omicron peak.
My message would be just hang in there.
Because things look like at least
for what's going on now with Omicron,
that things are turning around.
KAYLEE HARTUNG: Nationally, new COVID cases have dropped
25% in the last two weeks.
And hospital admissions are down nearly 10%.
But in areas like the South and West,
many frontline teams are still overwhelmed.
Texas has just 7% of its ICU beds open, a record low.
Doctors at Texas Children's in Houston
say their sickest patients are unvaccinated.
It's hard, because if your children are under five,
they're just not eligible.
So to me, it places even more emphasis on being vaccinated.
Because if you're protected, your children
are less likely to get it.
KAYLEE HARTUNG: And scientists are now
tracking the spread of that Omicron sub-variant, BA.2,
now detected in 24 states.
We're keeping a very close eye on it.
Looks a bit more transmissible, but not
necessarily more severe.
And David, on that sub-variant,
British researchers are finding that vaccines appear
to be just as effective against BA.2,
as the original BA.1 Omicron.
They say it seems to be spreading faster,
but it's too early to know for sure.
And right now, there is no evidence that it leads
to more or less severe illness.
David?
All right, we'll be tracking that closely.
Kaylee, thank you.