Omicron variant found in California

[dalton99a]

Source: NBC

The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.

The CDC issued a statement that the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health confirmed the case in a traveler who returned from South Africa on November 22.

"The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive," the statement read.

The variant, which was first detected in southern Africa last week, has a high number of mutations that suggest it may spread just as or more easily than the delta variant, which currently accounts for 99.9 percent of Covid-19 cases in the U.S.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/omicron-variant-found-california-rcna6909

[llashram]

1. I remember

reading somewhere early in this pandemic that the virus would sooner or later mutate to a non-lethal-transmissible virus. It seems the opposite is true.

[SKKY]

2. Actually, if the symptoms are less severe than the Delta variant...

...which from what I've ascertained they do indeed appear to be, that's exactly what's happening.

[The Mouth]

7. From my understanding that seems to be the normal order

Viruses get more easily transmissible but less virulent.

[Pachamama]

11. This is not always the case

It can go either way - they don’t know yet.

26 unique mutations in the protein spike

They don’t know yet if it’s less lethal, more lethal or does other crazy shit

[llashram]

14. exactly

[janterry]

12. This is true for most naturally occuring viruses

Fingers crossed that covid will go the way of most viruses

[cally]

3. Where in California?

I don’t think they are reporting where yet. One of my pet peeves but California is a huge state and it makes a difference where it was found.

[dalton99a]

5. San Francisco

Last edited Wed Dec 1, 2021, 04:09 PM - Edit history (1)

A case of the omicron coronavirus variant has been identified in a San Francisco resident — the first in the country, officials said Wednesday.

The case was detected in someone who traveled to the U.S. from South Africa on Nov. 22, and tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a White House briefing.

That person was fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine — but not a booster — and developed mild symptoms upon their return, according to San Francisco public health director Grant Colfax.

All close contacts to the person have been contacted and tested negative, according to a joint message from the San Francisco and California Departments of Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The variant was discovered through genomic sequencing at UCSF.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/First-U-S-omicron-case-found-in-San-Francisco-16666493.php

[cally]

10. Thanks

[progree]

4. Hospitalizations up sharply in South African province where omicron variant detected,

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hospitalizations-up-sharply-in-south-african-province-where-omicron-variant-detected/ar-AARj0ao?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

Hospitalizations up sharply in South African province where omicron variant detected, The Hill, 11/30/21

... The Gauteng province - which includes Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa - has seen hospitalizations spike by almost 400 percent since the beginning of November, according to NBC News ( https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/covid-19-hospitalizations-rising-south-africas-omicron-hot-spot-rcna6922 )

During the week ending Nov. 6, hospitalizations in the province rose from 120 to 580, according to data from South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), cited by NBC News.

Hospitalizations, however, have hardly increased in other provinces in South Africa, NBC News noted. Large spikes were only discerned in two of the nine territories in recent months.

[progree]

8. WHO says S Africa Covid hospitalizations are rising but it's too soon to know severity of omicron

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/who-says-south-africa-covid-hospitalizations-are-rising-but-it-s-too-soon-to-know-severity-of-omicron/ar-AARlTg5?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

WHO says South Africa Covid hospitalizations are rising but it's too soon to know severity of omicron, CNBC, 12/1/21

Hospitalizations are rising across South Africa, but it's still too early to know whether the omicron variant is driving an increase in severe Covid-19 cases, according to the World Health Organization.

Maria Van Kerkhove, Covid technical lead for the WHO, said Wednesday that some patients infected with omicron are showing mild symptoms, but there are also reports of cases in which the disease becomes more severe. Hospitalizations could be rising due to a general increase in Covid cases and not necessarily because omicron is more lethal, Van Kerkhove said.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member and a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC on Wednesday that there was a mini-delta surge in South Africa as well as an uptick in a separate variant, C.1.2, which complicates efforts to gain clarity on omicron's transmission and virulence.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC on Monday that omicron symptoms reported in South Africa may not be a good predictor of the variant's virulence in other parts of the world, because the country has a much younger and healthier population than European nations and the United States.

[LudwigPastorius]

6. "...confirmed the case in a traveler who returned from South Africa on November 22."

I wonder where they were on Thanksgiving, and who they spent it with.

Not good. The number of people who no longer wear masks, or observe social distance, combined with colder weather, is going to make for a hellacious surge in cases.

[RussBLib]

9. and so the markets crash again

as if the first US case is a frikkin' crisis.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

13. We don't have the best COVID record

compared to our peers.