Dr. Faucci made an announcement at the White House briefing.
On Wednesday, December 2, Dr. Faucci announced the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant. “During his White House briefing, he said: "The California and San Francisco departments of public health and the CDC have confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 among an individual in California was caused by Omicron variant."
According to Dr. Faucci, an individual was a traveler from South Africa who tested positive on November 29. The person was fully vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms. People who've come into contact with this person have been tested negative. The individual is currently self-quarantining and his condition is improving.
Experts don't yet have enough data to show how contagious omicron is compared to other strains. We also don't know how likely it is to cause a severe illness.
Health officials need at least a few more weeks to analyze the data and assess the full impact of the virus. In particular, they'll need to see how the virus affects people based on their age, their immune status, and whether or not they are vaccinated.
Once experts gather enough concrete data, they'll be able to put out health policies based on the information collected. As experts like Sobhanie said, “There is going to be this stream of data that comes up — a little bit here, a little bit here, a little bit here. But you can’t make policy decisions, and you can’t make clinical decisions, on a little bit of data. You really need to have all the facts.”
In the meantime, experts recommend sticking to the preventive measures that have been known to work so far, such as wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. As well as getting vaccinated and getting a booster shot.
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