San Diego County detects its first Omicron case
A San Diego County resident with the Omnicron variant had received a booster vaccine and has not needed to be hospitalized.
SAN DIEGO — Researchers identified San Diego County’s first COVID case caused by the Omicron variant Thursday, according to an announcement from the county public health department.
The discovery came after genetic sequencing was performed Thursday by the San Diego Epidemiology and Research for COVID Health Alliance, one day after a positive test result was returned in a San Diego resident who “recently traveled abroad,†officials said.
The patient, according to the county, was vaccinated and had received a booster, and is not ill enough to require hospitalization.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health director, said the result is expected, given that Omicron was first detected in California last week.
“We are continuing to monitor for the Omicron variant and will report any other cases to the public when they are identified,†Wooten said.
The news comes shortly after Pfizer said that a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to increase protection against Omicron, which was first detected in South Africa and is now spreading worldwide.
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