What is the Omicron variant?
First identified in Botswana and South Africa, this new iteration of the coronavirus has prompted concern among scientists and public health officials because of an unusually high number of mutations that have the potential to make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existing vaccines.
The World Health Organization has called Omicron a “variant of concern” and warned that the global risks posed by it were “very high,” despite what officials described as a multitude of uncertainties. Cases have been identified in dozens of countries on every continent except Antarctica.
What do we know about Omicron’s presence in the U.S.?
It’s too early to say how widespread the variant will become in the United States. As of Dec. 4, cases have been identified in more than a dozen states, but experts say that number is likely to increase in the coming days and weeks. The first person to have tested positive for the variant returned to San Francisco from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
