Omicron found in US—plus 23 other countries in 5 of 6 global regions

The omicron coronavirus variant has now been detected in not less than 24 international locations in 5 of six international areas—and as of this afternoon, that features the USA.

The US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention confirmed this afternoon that the primary US case was detected in an individual in California who had returned to the US from South Africa on November 22 and examined optimistic on November 29. Researchers on the College of California, San Francisco carried out genomic sequencing figuring out the omicron variant within the particular person, and the CDC confirmed that sequencing.

The CDC reported that the particular person was absolutely vaccinated and had solely delicate signs which are bettering. In a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, high infectious illness professional Anthony Fauci mentioned it appeared the particular person had not but acquired a booster shot. Public well being consultants counsel that booster pictures will considerably enhance safety in opposition to the brand new, nonetheless poorly understood variant.

All the particular person’s shut contacts are being adopted, Fauci added, and all have examined detrimental up to now.

The detection of omicron within the US is unsurprising to well being officers. “It was only a matter of time earlier than the case of omicron could be detected in the USA,” Fauci mentioned. However, “we all know what we have to do to guard folks,” he added, itemizing vaccination, boosting, and masking.

A poisonous combine

The detection bolsters criticism in opposition to hasty journey bans directed at southern Africa, the place officers bravely introduced the variant to worldwide consideration final week. Journey bans are typically not efficient at stopping worldwide unfold of a illness and may take a heavy toll on the international locations focused. In the meantime, enhanced international monitoring for omicron in current days has solely confirmed that the variant had already unfold extensively previous to journey bans being in place.

On November 30, the US enacted journey restrictions from the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe. Since then, the variant has been detected in lots of different international locations, from which the variant can simply as simply unfold.

“Blanket journey bans is not going to forestall the worldwide unfold of Omicron, and so they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” WHO Director-Basic Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned in a press briefing earlier at present, earlier than the US introduced the detection of omicron.

Along with blasting punitive and ineffective journey bans, Dr. Tedros highlighted the inequities that led to the rise of omicron and proceed to threaten international public well being. “Globally, we’ve a poisonous mixture of low vaccine protection, and really low testing—a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants,” Dr. Tedros mentioned.

He additionally redirected consideration away from omicron, the importance of which continues to be unclear. “We should not overlook that we’re already coping with a extremely transmissible, harmful variant—the Delta variant, which at present accounts for nearly all circumstances globally,” Dr. Tedros mentioned. “We have to use the instruments we have already got to forestall transmission and save lives from delta… if international locations and people don’t do what they should do to cease transmission of delta, they gained’t cease omicron both.”