Omicron Variant: What We Know So Far

Updated: Jan 1, 2022

As a staggering number of cases are surging across the nation, one thing is clear: Omicron is a hyper-contagious virus. Now, even a quick, transient encounter can lead to an infection; including if someone’s mask is loose, or a person quickly pulls their mask down, or an individual enters an enclosed space in which someone else has just coughed.

There are now four times as many cases as during last year’s winter surge. There is also a higher rate of infection among children with a record surge of hospitalizations, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Early symptoms of omicron could seem like the common cold: runny nose, headache, sore throat and sneezing,, but experts are warning people that they should not underestimate the risks posed by the more transmissible strain and get tested.

Updated: December 15, 2021

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization announced that a new variant of concern, Omicron (B.1.1.529), is spreading quickly in South Africa. To date, Omicron has been sequenced in at least 70 other countries as of December 4. As more cases of the new omicron Covid variant emerge around the world, experts say it’s likely that the variant has already been circulating for some time.

In a December 14 update, the World Health Organization said that the omicron variant is spreading faster than any previously detected strain of the coronavirus.

Preventing Virus Spread in Your Household

The highly contagious Delta variant remains the current strain of concern in Arizona. Wearing a mask in public places and getting your COVID-19 vaccine and booster is effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and death from the Delta virus.

CDC recommends people follow prevention strategies such as wearing a mask in public indoor settings (regardless of vaccination status) in areas of substantial or high community transmission, washing your hands frequently, and physically distancing from others.

Delta Variant Dominates in Arizona

The Delta variant currently predominates in all the Arizona samples sequenced by the Translational Genomics Research Institute. TGen North, located in Flagstaff, Arizona, now sequences about a thousand virus samples per week. Arizona currently has a daily new case average of about 3,281 — about 5 times greater than the average last summer.

You’re most likely to contract the virus if you spend time in an enclosed space breathing the air of an infected person. To slow the evolution of new variants, experts say it’s critical to wear a two- or three-layer, (or N95) mask. Don’t spend time indoors with people not from your household. Avoid crowds, and keep your distance. Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your face. Read How Coronavirus Spreads

Everyone 18 and Older: Get your booster, CDC urges

On November 29, the CDC upped its recommendations to everyone 18 and older regarding booster shots for those already inoculated due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Health experts throughout the nation are emphasizing that vaccinations are the strongest defense against new variants because they decrease spread and, therefore, mutations. CDC also recommends that everyone 5 years and older protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated. CDC encourages a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for those who are eligible.