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from: MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press
Posted: Dec 1, 2021 / 12:49 PM CST
Updated: Dec 1, 2021 / 1:41 PM CST
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy, listens as President Joe Biden speaks about the variant of COVID-19 called Omicron in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Monday, November 29, 2021. (AP photo / Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) – A person vaccinated against COVID-19 in California became the first in the United States to have an identified case of the Omicron variant, the White House said on Wednesday, as scientists continue to investigate the risks of the new virus strain.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on November 22nd and tested positive on November 29th. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but not given a booster and had “mild symptoms”.
The Biden government decided late last month to restrict travel from southern Africa, where the variant was first identified and widely used. Case clusters have also been identified in around two dozen other countries.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before the first case of Omicron was discovered in the US,” said Fauci.
He said the person is doing better, adding, “I think what is happening now is another example of why it is important for people to get vaccinated. But also stimulate. Funding is very important. “
Officials said they contacted everyone who was in close contact with the person and they all tested negative.
Genome sequencing was performed at the University of California, San Francisco, and the sequence was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking steps to tighten US testing rules for overseas travelers, including requiring all travelers to have a test within one day of boarding a flight to the US, regardless of vaccination status. It also considered ordering tests upon arrival.
Officials said these measures would only “buy the country time” to learn more about the new variant and take appropriate precautions, but given its portability, its arrival in the US is inevitable.
Much is still unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious than previous strains, whether it makes people more ill and whether it can thwart the vaccine. Fauci, the leading U.S. infectious disease expert, said more would be known about the Omicron strain in two to four weeks when scientists grow and test laboratory samples of the virus.
The California Department of Health praised the state’s “large-scale testing and early detection systems” for identifying the case.
“We know everyone is exhausted and the news of a new variant can be overwhelming. It is important that we collectively focus on the things that we know will prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, ”state health officials said in a statement.
The announcement of the first US case comes before President Joe Biden plans to outline his strategy to fight the virus over the winter on Thursday. Biden has tried to suppress the alarm about the Omicron variant, saying it was cause for concern but “not a cause to panic”.
Biden and public health officials have become more urgent in their requests to vaccinate more Americans – and for a booster vaccination for those who have been vaccinated to maximize their protection from the virus.
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