Well, this is definitely not what we needed as the holiday season is upon us.
The omicron coronavirus variant is spreading faster in Gauteng, the epicenter of the latest outbreak in South Africa, than the delta strain or any of the earlier mutations, an adviser to the provincial government said. 😑
By the way, it's OMI-CRON not OMNI-CRON.
The United States identified its first case of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in a patient in San Francisco, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
The person was a traveller who returned to the United States from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive seven days later and suffered mild symptoms, officials said.
That patient was fully vaccinated but did not have a booster shot, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
It’s unclear if existing Covid-19 vaccines will protect people against the new Omicron variant, but manufacturers are already exploring their options.