In the first week of December, 43 cases of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant were identified in the United States, and almost all were mild, according to data presented today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Thirty-four of the patients were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 14 had been boosted, and 6 had reported previous COVID-19 infections. One person, who was fully vaccinated, required hospitalization, but none of the Omicron patients died.
Twenty-five patients (58%) were 18 to 39 years old, and 14 (33%) reported international travel during the 2 weeks prior to symptom onset.
The details on these first US Omicron patients were published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Possibility of overwhelming hospitals
Though case number are small, the CDC warned, "Even if most infections are mild, a highly transmissible variant could result in enough cases to overwhelm health systems. The clinical severity of infection with the Omicron variant will become better understood as additional cases are identified and investigated."
The CDC's initial report is based on all documented cases in the US identified by the agency from Dec 1 (when the first US-based Omicron case was diagnosed in California) to Dec 8. Since the report, additional states and cases have been found.
Iowa, Michigan, and Virginia are the latest states to confirm cases of the variant, and now at least 25 states have reported cases.
"I know we all remain concerned about where we are the pandemic," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, during a White House press briefing today. "We will continue to study this variant."
Cases, hospitalizations increase sharply
Walensky also noted that the 7-day average of new daily cases increased to 118,500 per day this week, up 37% over the prior week. Hospital admissions rose to 7,400 per day, 16% over the previous week. And daily deaths rose to 1,100 per day, a 28% increase over the prior week.
The United States reported 117,619 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 1,419 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.
Anthony Fauci, MD, today during the press briefing shared new information on booster doses and Omicron. The standard two-dose series of mRNA vaccines showed a 25-fold reduction in neutralizing antibodies to the Omicron variant compared with the wild type strain. A booster dose, however, increased antibodies significantly, he added.
Also today in MMWR, the CDC published the latest statistics on US booster dose administration among adults ages 65 and older. From Aug 13 to Nov 19, 18.7 million older adults received a booster or additional primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine, constituting 44.1% of eligible people in that age-group.
Booster uptake in older Americans was similar by sex but differed by race: 30.3% of non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons had received boosters, compared with 50.5% of non-Hispanic multiple/other race persons.
In total, the CDC COVID Data Tracker shows that 60.5% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 71.5% have received at least one dose, and 24.9% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.
Other COVID developments
- The Biden administration opted to reimburse Americans for COVID-19 tests through their private insurance after officials concluded it would be too costly and inefficient to send tests to every American, according to Politico.
- Amid all-time patient highs, Indiana National Guard members are providing staff support in 13 hospitals around the state, with several others expected to join them next week, the Indianapolis Star reported yesterday.
- Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts yesterday dismissed an emergency request to block the federal mask mandate for air travel, Axios reports.
