Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Californian Has First Detected Omicron Case In US
NBC News: First U.S. Case Of Omicron Variant Is Found In California
The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. The CDC said in a statement that the California Department of Public Health and the San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed the case in a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 — three days before scientists in that country announced they'd detected the new variant. (Edwards and Elisha Fieldstadt, 12/1)
AP: 1st US Case Of COVID Omicron Variant Confirmed In California
Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild symptoms.” The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from Southern Africa where the variant was first identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations. “We knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States,” Fauci said. (Balsamo and Miller, 12/1)
Los Angeles Times: What We Know About The First U.S. Omicron Variant Case
The infected individual returned home from South Africa on Nov. 22, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The person developed symptoms around Nov. 25 — Thanksgiving — and got tested Sunday. On Monday, the result came back positive, and the virus specimen was subsequently analyzed and revealed to be the latest named coronavirus strain. Citing privacy, health officials released few details about the individual. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the person was between 18 and 49 years old. (Money, Dolan and Lin II, 12/1)
On the impact of the first U.S. case —
Politico: CDC Looks For More Omicron Cases After Variant Is Detected In California
The new Omicron Covid-19 variant has been detected in California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The individual who contracted the variant is a resident of San Francisco, was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms after traveling to South Africa and returning home Nov. 22, the CDC said in a press statement. The individual tested positive Nov. 29. Health authorities in California have reached out to all close contacts of the individual in question, who is in self-quarantine, and all of them have tested negative. (Banco, Lim and Cancryn, 12/1)
The New York Times: California Reassures Residents The State Is Prepared For Omicron
“This was predictable,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in the Central Valley, where he encouraged residents to get vaccinated and get booster shots. “And it was not surprising that the state of California detected it.” State health officials said the discovery of the Omicron variant would prompt increased Covid-19 testing at California airports, focusing on arrivals from countries identified by the C.D.C. as potential sources of the variant. (Hubler and Cowan, 12/1)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Gov. Hogan Says State Readying For Omicron Coronavirus Variant
As the latest troubling coronavirus variant, known as omicron, was detected in the United States for the first time Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan said health officials are taking steps to prepare for its likely arrival in Maryland. The state is expanding its efforts to sequence samples from positive coronavirus cases to detect for omicron and other variants by buying more reagents for the state public health lab and extending sequencing contracts with the University of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins University. (Wood and Mann, 12/1)
Reuters: First Omicron Case In U.S. Fuels Global Alarm Over Virus Variant
Fears over the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus rose on Thursday after the first case was reported in the United States and the Japanese central bank warned of economic pain as countries respond with tighter containment measures. The first known U.S. case was a fully vaccinated person in California who returned to the United States from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive seven days later. (12/2)
