By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – Local health leaders are not sounding the alarm just yet on the new COVID-19 variant Omicron; however, health officials are keeping a watchful eye on the new variant.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the new variant is a “variant of concern,” while no cases have been identified in the U.S. to date.
Marianne Manko, Public Affairs Coordinator with the McLean County Health Department, said the department is still looking at how the variant impacts the human body.
“It was first detected in countries with low vaccinations rate, and it rapidly spread to at least 20 different countries so far. But, we do have limited data on the transmissibility or its effect on the human body. We’re not sure if it affects the human body differently from other known variants.”
On the other hand, Manko said the department is still investigating the variant to determine vaccines’ effects in protecting against it.
“We still have very little data on its resistance to vaccines and boosters. But, what we do know is mitigations that we are already familiar with, including isolation and masking and social distancing and, of course, vaccinations and boosters – those are still going to be key in helping us control the spread of any virus; including this variant.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expects variant Omicron to be “identified quickly if it emerges in the U.S.”
Blake Haas can be reached at Blake.Haas@Cumulus.com.
