No omicron cases in Ohio yet, but it’s likely
Experts believe it will only be a matter of time
The first U.S. case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 was detected Wednesday in California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The variant was detected in San Francisco in a fully vaccinated traveler who had returned from South Africa on Nov. 22.
Omicron has not yet been discovered in Ohio, Alicia Shoults, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health said via email.
In all likelihood omicron is already in Ohio and it’s just a matter of time until it’s discovered, said Dr. Mark Herbert, an infectious disease specialist for Mount Carmel Health.
Omicron, a new strain of COVID-19 first detected in South Africa and scientifically referred to as B.1.1.529, was first reported as a “variant of concern” to the World Health Organization the day before the Thanksgiving holiday. Scientists at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center had already been testing for new strains of the virus and began looking for omicron right away, said Dr. Peter Mohler, chief scientific officer.
It was a development Mohler and others had expected, but still a troubling one.
“In a way, this was very predictable based on what we’ve seen with viruses in the past,” Mohler said. “Having that line of sight makes it less of a panic and more of a three-alarm fire every time we see a new variant.”
Little is yet known about omicron, but health officials worry that it could be more transmissible than previous variants. Early, anecdotal evidence suggests that it could be a less-severe strain, though Mohler said more research must be done to know for sure.
“I think in the next few days or weeks we’re going to be learning much more about what it is and what it’s doing,” Herbert said. “What we’ve learned about pandemics in this century is they move fast. … People keep asking me, ‘Is it here?’ I think the answer likely is yes.”
Scientists are also testing to see how well an immune system stands up to the variant in people who were vaccinated or previously infected.
Approved COVID vaccine makers in the U.S., including Pfizer-biontech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, have all committed to reformulating their shots to protect against omicron, if necessary.
Herbert said vaccines remain the best defense against COVID. Even if existing vaccines end up being less-effective against omicron, they’ll likely still prevent the worst of the disease, he said.
Although omicron brings with it a potential new threat, the delta variant (B.1.617.2) and strains that came before both versions of the virus have helped to establish a statewide playbook.
Not all labs have the capability or resources to test samples for variants.
But since the pandemic started in March 2020, a network of private labs, hospitals and universities such as Ohio State has formed over the last two years. Variant information is shared with the Ohio Department of Health lab, which relays it to the National SARS-COV-2 Strain Surveillance system, Shoults said.
Samples examined for variants are collected from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and take around three to four weeks for results, according to the state.
The state health department’s lab can provide genomic sequencing for variants if it is made aware of an outbreak or other situation that merits intervention, Shoults said. However, no specific actions are automatically triggered if someone is found to have contracted a COVID variant of concern.
The Ohio Department of Health reports data on COVID variants every Monday on a statewide dashboard set up at the start of the pandemic.
“We are closely monitoring developments regarding this variant,” Shoults said of omicron. “[T]he spread of new variants highlights the need for all Ohioans to take preventative measures that have been shown at being effective at preventing transmission.”
Though it’s anyone’s guess, Mohler said omicron is unlikely to be the last major COVID variant of concern to emerge.
Including omicron and delta, there are 12 variants being monitored right now in the U.S., including strains that doctors previously flagged as concerning,
according to the CDC.
So far, delta has proven to be the most-serious variant, due to its higher transmissibility and the observation that it might be able to cause more-severe illness, doctors said. In July, delta unseated the alpha variant (B.1.1.7) — which first emerged in the United Kingdom — as the dominant strain of the virus in the United States.
In Ohio, the delta variant accounted for more than 97% of COVID cases from Nov. 7 through Nov. 20, state data shows. Across the United States, the delta variant of COVID accounts for more than 99% of cases, according to the CDC.
While omicron may eventually surpass delta if it spreads more easily, Mohler said it’s likely a matter of time before yet another variant does the same.
“In a few months, we’ll probably be talking about the 23rd letter in the Greek alphabet,” Mohler said. “There will be a lot of the competing predictions; some are right and some are wrong. … But, the toolbox that we have now that started in 2020 has really made it so we can move much quicker on this.” mfilby@dispatch.com @Maxfilby
“We are closely monitoring developments regarding this variant. [T]he spread of new variants highlights the need for all Ohioans to take preventative measures that have been shown at being effective at preventing transmission.”
Alicia Shoults Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman