Excerpt
U.S. Identifies Its First Omicron Patient in California
The Covid-19 variant was identified just before Thanksgiving by scientists in South Africa
By
Betsy McKay
Dec. 1, 2021 2:01 pm ET
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A U.S. case of the Omicron variant has been identified in California, the CDC said. Travelers at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday.PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that a person with the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus had been identified in California. The person had returned to the U.S. from a trip to South Africa on Nov. 22. All their known contacts have so far tested negative for the variant, the CDC said.
Officials in South Africa first identified the Omicron variant as a threat in late November, and have since identified cases going back to at least Nov. 8. Shortly after it was identified, Omicron was designated by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern, formally alerting health authorities around the world to the extra risks the Covid-19 strain appears to carry.
The majority of earliest cases were identified in southern Africa. The variant has also been identified in Australia, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, and countries throughout Europe, including the U.K., Italy, and the Netherlands.
Governments around the globe, including the U.S., have restricted travel from southern Africa, although officials are divided over how well travel bans stop a new variant from moving around
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisory to Level Four, the highest level, for eight African countries. The CDC on Nov. 29 recommended that everyone 18 and older get an additional shot after completing a first course of Covid-19 vaccination. The agency last month encouraged boosters only for those 50 and above, adding that people ages 18 and above could get an additional dose.
Omicron has an unusually large number of mutations: around 50, including more than 30 on the spike protein, the structure that the virus uses to attach to human cells and the main target of many current Covid-19 vaccines.
To qualify as a variant of concern, a new virus strain has to be proved to be more contagious, lead to more serious illness or decrease the effectiveness of public-health measures, Covid-19 tests, treatments or vaccines. |
