The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — a person in California who had been to South Africa.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert, made the announcement at the White House.
“We knew it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States,” he said.
The infected person was identified as a traveler who had returned from South Africa on Nov. 22. The person, who was fully vaccinated but had not had a booster shot, tested positive on Monday and had mild symptoms that are improving, officials said.
“You really can’t take anything away from a single patient,” Fauci said. “We feel good that this patient not only had mild symptoms but actually the symptoms appear to be approving.”
Fauci said it will realistically be another two to three weeks before “a lot” is known about the variant, including transmissibility, severity and vaccine efficacy.
Here’s what we know right now:
- The omicron variant has more than 30 mutations.
- It may be more transmissible
- It’s unclear if it’s more transmissible than the delta variant.
- Severity is still unclear.
As for how effective the vaccines are, medical experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the World Health Organization agree current vaccines will offer at least some protection to the variant, likely against severe disease. If a variant-specific booster is needed, all three vaccine makers are already working on one and it could be ready in less than 100 days, according to Pfizer.
While we should know more in the next two to four weeks, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said, “There’s no indication that the vaccines won’t work. Even if there is a reduction in efficacy, it is still better to have the vaccine because it will save your life.”
WHO is recommending this: ”People who are unwell or at risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with comorbidities (e.g. heart disease, cancer, and diabetes), should be advised to postpone travel.”
In addition to those recommendations, President Joe Biden is expected to announce new testing protocols for international travelers. Travelers are now required to present a negative test taken within 72 hours of entry. Travelers could soon be required to present a negative test taken within 24 hours of entry. Mandatory testing after entry is also under consideration, however, mandatory quarantine is not under consideration.