The recently discovered Omicron variant is fueling a new surge of COVID-19 cases across the nation — healthcare providers in more than 19 American states (and 50 countries in total) are currently reporting official infections traced back to this new version of the novel coronavirus, according to public statements made by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials.
And because it hasn’t even been a full month since officers at the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the variant a concern, scientists still have a lot to learn about Omicron. Earlier reports, however limited, indicate that Omicron variant infections may differ just slightly from cases experts have seen stem from the spread of Delta and other earlier variants that were of concern in 2021.
The genetic makeup of Omicron is vastly different compared to other COVID-19 strains that experts have seen, explains Gwen Murphy, M.D., Ph.D., an epidemiology expert and director currently at testing company Let’sGetChecked. The earliest tests on Omicron have indicated that it may not cause as severe of symptoms experienced due to Delta infections — in South Africa, where the first instance of Omicron infections were reported, the nation’s Medical Research Council shared testimony that the majority of patients impacted by Omicron infections didn’t require ventilators or emergency oxygen to breathe while in treatment.
