First two cases detected in Ohio

Both had received vaccine but not booster

Ohio has officially recorded its first two cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19, according to state health officials.

The Ohio Department of Health said the two cases were detected in adult males from Central Ohio, who both test positive to PCR tests on Tuesday. Genomic sequencing conducted in a laboratory at Ohio State University.

“We have known that it would only be a matter of time until a case of Omicron was detected in Ohio,” said Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, in a news release Saturday.

While the the existence of omicron within the state was only just confirmed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the variant has been circulating within the U.S. since November, according to Vanderhoff.

Both patients received their initial COVID-19 vaccine series six months ago but neither had received a booster dose, officials said. Their symptoms are mild and neither patient has been hospitalized.

Vanderhoff noted that despite omicron’s arrival in Ohio, the delta variant continues to drive the state’s case rate and hospitalizations.

“As of yesterday, there were 4,422 patients in the hospital with COVID-19, a high that matches what we experienced in January of 2021 during last winter’s surge,” Vanderhoff said. “The hospitalizations in this Delta surge are largely being driven by unvaccinated Ohioans. Severe illness with COVID-19 is largely preventable thanks to vaccines.”

Public health data shows that around 54% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Vanderhoff said the variant may be “more contagious and more likely to reinfect people,” though early research suggests that current vaccines and boosters are still effective.

What we know about omicron

Omicron, a variant of SARS-COV-2, was first detected in specimens collected last month in Botswana and South Africa, according to the CDC.

The World Health Organization classified it as a “Variant of Concern” over Thanksgiving weekend, with the first case detected in the U.S. on Dec. 1. Since then, omicron has been detected in 27 states, CDC data shows.

In May, WHO announced it would use a new system for naming variants to avoid confusion and stigmas to countries where the variants are first documented.

WHO said the goal of using the Greek alphabet is to make it easier and more practical for nonscientific communities to discuss the variants. Calling variants by the names of countries may also create unfair stigmas when the variants may not have originated in those countries and were only first detected there.

Given its recent arrival, much remains unknown surrounding whether omicron causes more severe illness or how well existing treatments work against it. Still, public health experts say more immunizations overall provide stronger protection against infection.

The WHO and CDC also recommend hand washing, keeping 6 feet from others, staying home when sick to slow the virus’ spread.