The Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to surge throughout the US as new circumstances have jumped by 185 p.c over the previous two weeks and the every day caseload stands at over 760,000.

Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Illnesses (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that Omicron "will finally discover nearly everyone" because the extremely infectious variant continues to unfold amongst each those that have and haven't obtained vaccinations in opposition to the coronavirus.

Given the variant's speedy unfold and the rise of at-home testing as insurance coverage corporations now should cowl eight checks a month, some have began to query the worth of the Biden administration's investments towards contact tracing and whether or not the follow remains to be helpful.

Whereas Becker's Hospital Evaluation writes that it is "unclear the precise quantity of funds" that went towards tracing and the U.S. Treasury informed Newsweek it "is not one thing Treasury is monitoring," the quantity stands someplace within the lots of of tens of millions. The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) doled out $631 million for tracing efforts in April of 2020 and a few states spent tens of millions growing apps.

President Biden Provides Update On Covid-19 Response
Stopping the unfold of COVID-19 has been a spotlight of the Biden administration's public well being efforts. Right here, President Joe Biden removes his face masks as he arrives to talk within the South Court docket Auditorium on the White Home campus on October 14, 2021, in Washington, D.C.Picture by Drew Angerer/Getty Photographs

Dr. Georges Benjamin, govt director of the American Public Well being Affiliation, weighed in on how helpful these investments at the moment are amid the Omicron surge and the way useful they could be sooner or later.

"If you get an unlimited outbreak like we're having proper now...It has much less relevance," Benjamin informed Newsweek. "(However) contact tracing nonetheless has an unlimited function in our response."

Whereas Omicron's means to quickly unfold makes the unique contact tracing measures much less helpful, Benjamin mentioned these investments usually are not in useless. As soon as the present variant subsides, he mentioned the prevailing contact tracing infrastructure can as soon as once more be deployed to handle geographically confined outbreaks to stop bigger spreads.

Now that contact tracing expertise and public well being networks are in place, these instruments can be utilized to stop the unfold of different illnesses within the meantime, permitting the measures to nonetheless be of use, Benjamin mentioned. Overreacting to the present infectiveness of contact tracing in regard to COIVD-19 may very well be extremely pricey and as soon as once more put America behind in the case of responding to future threats of illness.

"One of many failures of our nationwide coverage and technique has been this yo-yo funding the place we put cash in when one thing dangerous occurs," Benjamin mentioned. "The cash is available in, usually somewhat later than we wanted it, after which the cash goes away, and the capability goes away. Then one thing dangerous occurs once more, and we might have mitigated it, however we did not have the infrastructure to do it. In case you constructed a military that means your military would by no means achieve success."

Benjamin factors to this lack of present contact tracing infrastructure as a cause why America's contact tracing efforts by no means reached the extent of success skilled in locations like western Europe. He mentioned many communities didn't get funds till it was too late which by no means allowed the applications to hit their stride.

Within the meantime, Benjamin mentioned contact tracing in its present kind must be tweaked to replicate the brand new realities of the virus.

Benjamin mentioned individuals ought to now determine themselves whether or not they have probably been contaminated. As soon as they obtain a solution to that suspicion via a house take a look at, he says they need to contact their physician who can present therapies, state or native well being division, and folks they've are available contact with.

"The idea of contact tracing adjustments a bit from the well being division being the middle of the contact tracing effort to people aided in that," Benjamin informed Newsweek. "So, contact tracing nonetheless performs a giant function."