LOS ANGELES — The omicron variant of the coronavirus has made its way to California. Here is a recap of what we know so far Wednesday:
1. Who: The infected individual had traveled to South Africa and returned from there on Nov. 22 and tested positive Monday, federal health officials said. South African authorities first identified the variant later dubbed omicron a week ago — an announcement that led the U.S. and many other nations to almost immediately bar airline travelers arriving from southern Africa. “The person recently traveled to South Africa and developed symptoms upon their return,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of health. “And they did the right thing and got tested and reported their travel history.”
At least 23 other countries have reported omicron infections since. In South Africa, new cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in a single day to almost 8,600, authorities reported Wednesday, and the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases said omicron has now overtaken the delta variant among samples now being analyzed at the genetic level.
2. Where: Health officials did not say where the infected individual lives, but the Los Angeles Times identified the patient as a San Francisco resident. The patient, who agreed to remain in quarantine, was identified only as being between 18 and 49. The case was confirmed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, with genomic sequencing conducted at the University of California, San Francisco. Researchers at the university obtained a sample from the patient Tuesday evening and worked feverishly overnight to assemble the genetic sequence.
3. How sick? The person was fully vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms that are improving and did not require hospitalization. The person had had the full two doses of the Moderna vaccine and wasn’t yet due for a booster shot, California officials said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, and other medical experts strongly emphasized that Americans should continue to get vaccinated and get their booster shots. The vaccine has been proven to reduce the risk of severe illness and death, and Fauci said it is reasonable to believe it will offer protection against the omicron variant.
4. What next? The patient is self-quarantining. All close contacts have been identified and have tested negative so far, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant’s presence in the state is not unexpected.
Much remains unknown about omicron. Answers to the most pressing questions — whether the variant spreads more easily, can cause severe illness or dodge some of the protection afforded by vaccines — likely won’t be known for a few weeks.
“We don’t know everything we need to know yet about the omicron variant. But we know that vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect yourself from severe illness and complications from all known SARS-CoV-2 variants to date,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a briefing Tuesday.
5. What’s different? While experts are still racing to identify the full ramifications of omicron, the fact that it has more mutations than any other previous variant is unsettling.
Though not all mutations are inherently bad news, scientists are concerned some of those in omicron might make the virus more transmissible or resistant to immunity generated by vaccines or previous infections.
“The thing that got everyone’s attention was the large number of mutations — around 50, much larger than previous variants. And some, according to the molecular configuration, are anticipated to impact transmissibility and antibody binding,” Fauci said earlier this week.
It’s unclear, however, whether omicron may spread as easily as the highly infectious delta variant, which remains the dominant strain both in California and the U.S. Fauci said further clarity on that, as well as whether omicron may be more virulent or vaccine-evasive, is probably still weeks away.