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The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant was found in San Diego. This was after the country’s first case was found in California.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, California – An Omicron COVID-19 case has been identified in San Diego, the County Health and Human Services Agency said Thursday.
The new variant was identified in a San Diego resident who had recently traveled abroad.
The sample tested positive for COVID-19 on December 8th. The San Diego Epidemiology and Research for COVID Health (SEARCH) Alliance performed full genome sequencing Thursday morning and identified the Omicron variant.
The patient who was vaccinated and boosted was not hospitalized and is in isolation.
The county is conducting its investigation to identify people who may have had close contact with the patient.
“We expected the Omicron variant would make its way to San Diego, and it has,” said Wilma J. Wooten, MD, MPH, district health officer. “We continue to monitor the Omicron variant and will report any other cases to the public if they are identified.”
Just this week, the San Diego County’s board of directors voted 3-2 in favor of continuing the 2020 health emergency declaration.
Dr. So far, Mark Sawyer, an infectious disease specialist at Rady Children’s Hospital, said the data shows the Omicron variant causes only mild symptoms in people who are fully vaccinated. Doctors in South Africa say the symptoms for Omicron include sore throat, headache, and fatigue.
“The vaccines work really well at preventing people from getting sick and being hospitalized. They don’t work that well at preventing all infections. Unfortunately, people can still get infected. They are likely to become infected less often. That is certainly the case with Delta, ”said Dr. Sawyer.
Dr. Sawyer also says getting a vaccination, booster vaccination, and wearing masks indoors are still the best ways to reduce your chances of contracting COVID-19, regardless of the variant.
The first reported case of the Omicron variant in the United States was reported in California on Wednesday, December 1, and a case was confirmed in Los Angeles County the following day.
The first case was a fully vaccinated San Francisco resident between the ages of 18 and 40. Governor Gavin Newsom said the person contracted the variant of Omicron after returning from South Africa. The person returned to the US on November 22nd and developed mild symptoms on November 25th, was tested on November 28th, and tested positive on November 29th. 24 hours later, it was sequenced at the University of California, San Francisco, where it was found to be the Omicron variant.
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the second California case involves a person who returned to Los Angeles on November 22nd after traveling to South Africa via London. The unidentified person is a fully vaccinated adult who lives in Los Angeles County, health officials said. The person is isolated with symptoms that “get better without medical care”. A “small number” of close contacts in the Los Angeles area have been identified, and so far all have tested negative for the virus and none have shown any symptoms.
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