US Records First Case Of Omicron Variant: He's Fully Vaccinated And Just Came Back From South Africa

Illustration of COVID-19. (Unsplash/Gabriella Clare Marino)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) on Wednesday identified the first known case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant, found in a fully vaccinated patient who traveled to South Africa, as scientists continue to study the risks the new version may pose.

Public health officials said the infected person, who had mild symptoms and was improving, returned to the United States from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive seven days later.

The patient was fully vaccinated but did not receive a booster shot, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, briefs reporters at the White House.

The person is in self-quarantine and all of the patient's close contacts have tested negative, he said, citing Reuters December 2.

Key questions remain about the new variant, which mutates in a way that health experts say could increase its ability to spread, evading some of the defenses provided by the vaccine. Work is underway to update the vaccine, if necessary.

Omicron variants have been found in two dozen countries, including some in Europe plus Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Israel.

The United States has not detected community transmission of the Omicron variant. In most countries, COVID-19 transmission remains high, although new cases have remained steady over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters tally. Meanwhile, three-quarters of all COVID samples in South Africa are now Omicron.

Fauci said it could take two weeks or more to gain insight into how easily the variant spreads from person to person, how severe the disease it causes, and whether it can bypass the protection provided by currently available vaccines.

"We don't have enough information at this time," said Fauci, who serves as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, adding a molecular profile of the variant.

"Shows that it might be more contagious, and maybe evade some of the vaccine protection, but we don't know that right now. We have to be prepared that there will be a reduction in protection."

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's Administration has asked fully vaccinated people to seek booster injections after their initial dose. Sixty percent of Americans are fully vaccinated and about a fifth of those people take boosters, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Earlier, for days, US health officials said the new variant, first detected in South Africa and announced on November 25, may already be in the United States as dozens of other countries have also detected its presence.

"This new variant is cause for concern but not cause for panic," President Biden said on Wednesday, before the case for the Omicron variant was announced. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the president had been briefed by his team about the country's first known case of the Omicron variant.

To note, the United States has banned almost all foreigners who have been in any of the eight South African countries. On Tuesday, the CDC directed airlines to disclose the names and other information of passengers who had been to those countries.