Washington: Christmas travel will increase the spread of Omicron variant, even among the fully vaccinated, said Anthony Fauci, top US infectious disease expert.

“There’s no doubt about this, [Omicron] has an extraordinary capability of spreading,” he said on Sunday.

He also warned that the next few weeks will put severe pressure on hospitals as the variant is now “raging through the world.”

“Our hospitals, if things look like they’re looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people, because, again, we have so many people in this country (US) who are eligible to be vaccinated and  who have not yet been vaccinated,” he said.

He, however, urged people  to be vaccinated, boosted, tested, wear masks and maintain social distance to prevent the spread of Omicron during holiday season.

He said, “We are going to see breakthrough infections, there’s no doubt about that. The difference between a vaccinated and boosted person who has an infection and someone who has an infection who’s never been vaccinated, there’s a major difference with regard to the risk of severity.”