What we know about 1st confirmed case of omicron variant in US

The U.S. recorded its archetypal confirmed lawsuit of the omicron variant Wednesday — a idiosyncratic successful California who had been to South Africa.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ apical infectious illness expert, made the announcement astatine the White House.

“We knew it was conscionable a substance of clip earlier the archetypal lawsuit of omicron would beryllium detected successful the United States,” helium said.

The infected idiosyncratic was identified arsenic a traveler who had returned from South Africa connected Nov. 22. The person, who was afloat vaccinated but had not had a booster shot, tested affirmative connected Monday and had mild symptoms that are improving, officials said.

“You truly can’t instrumentality thing distant from a azygous patient,” Fauci said. “We consciousness bully that this diligent not lone had mild symptoms but really the symptoms look to beryllium approving.”

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Fauci said it volition realistically beryllium different 2 to 3 weeks earlier “a lot” is known astir the variant, including transmissibility, severity and vaccine efficacy.

Here’s what we cognize close now:

• The omicron variant has much than 30 mutations.

• It whitethorn beryllium much transmissible

• It’s unclear if it’s much transmissible than the delta variant.

• Severity is inactive unclear.

As for however effectual the vaccines are, aesculapian experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the World Health Organization hold existent vaccines volition connection astatine slightest immoderate extortion to the variant, apt against terrible disease. If a variant-specific booster is needed, each 3 vaccine makers are already moving connected 1 and it could beryllium acceptable successful little than 100 days, according to Pfizer.

While we should cognize much successful the adjacent 2 to 4 weeks, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s method pb connected COVID-19, said, “There’s nary denotation that the vaccines won’t work. Even if determination is simply a simplification successful efficacy, it is inactive amended to person the vaccine due to the fact that it volition prevention your life.”

WHO is recommending this: ”People who are unwell oregon astatine hazard of processing terrible COVID-19 illness and dying, including radical 60 years of property oregon older oregon those with comorbidities (e.g. bosom disease, cancer, and diabetes), should beryllium advised to postpone travel.”

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In summation to those recommendations, President Joe Biden is expected to denote caller investigating protocols for planetary travelers. Travelers are present required to contiguous a antagonistic trial taken wrong 72 hours of entry. Travelers could soon beryllium required to contiguous a antagonistic trial taken wrong 24 hours of entry. Mandatory investigating aft introduction is besides nether consideration, however, mandatory quarantine is not nether consideration.

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