The US Reports Its 1st Case of COVID-19 Omicron Variant; The Person Was Fully Vaccinated
The virus of concern has made its descent into the United States of America and its very first victim is a vaccinated individual.
The omicron is the latest COVID-19 variant found in the interior parts of South Africa. The WHO considers this to be a variant of concern due to its ability to infect vaccinated individuals. The emerging virus has pushed many countries back to a state of lockdown in terms of international travel. A complete lockdown is hanging over the heads of nations with low vaccination and testing alongside protesting anti-vaxxers.
“Today, the CDC has confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant detected in the United States,” Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator said on Wednesday.
The first omicron case in the US was diagnosed on November 22, 2021. The patient was a traveler flying back to California from South Africa. The PCR test diagnosed the presence of the new variant seven days later and the individual is currently quarantined and undergoing treatment.
Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared that America has increased genomic sampling recently to identify any COVID-19 hosts early. They are sampling around 80,000 per week. This is more than any other country in the world.
The number of omicron cases in South Africa has doubled and the CDC says social distancing and COVID appropriate behavior is the only way to save the world now.
