THE UNITED STATES (US) — Omicron cases in the US hit 79% of fully vaccinated persons as of this time, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.
The report shows that of 43 cases of COVID-19 attributed to the Omicron variant, 34 or 79% had been fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines authorized and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Fourteen or 33% of them had received booster shots. It also shows that 25 or almost 60% of these Omicron variant cases occurred in persons aged 18 – 39 years.
Characteristics of reported confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in the US as of December 1–8, 2021
| Age Group Years | Number (%) |
| <18 | 4 (9) |
| 18 – 39 | 25 (58) |
| 40 – 64 | 10 (23) |
| ≥65 | 4 (9) |
| COVID-19 Vaccination Status | |
| Unvaccinated | 8 (19) |
| Partially Vaccinated | 0 (-) |
| Vaccinated | 20 (47) |
| Vaccinated plus an additional dose | 14 (33) |
| Unknown | 1 (2) |
The report also said that the most commonly reported Omicron variant symptoms were cough, fatigue, and congestion, or runny nose. No deaths have been reported so far, and exposures are identified associated with international and domestic travel, large public events, and household transmission.
In the US, the first Omicron variant case was identified on Dec. 1, 2021. As the variant has been seen rapidly emerging globally, genomic surveillance systems should have been implemented together with global information-sharing, the report said.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 Omicron variant was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Nov. 24, 2021. It was first identified in specimens collected in Botswana on Nov. 11, 2021, and in South Africa on Nov. 14, 2021. WHO named the variant Omicron on Nov. 26, 2021, and hushed it as a variant of concern on Dec. 1, 2021, the same date the US confirmed its first Omicron variant case. RQJ
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Source: SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant — United States, December 1–8, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 10 December 2021. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7050e1
Since 2011, Regel Javines has been writing online, sharing news and analysis on a range of noteworthy and urgent social issues. He completed his bachelor’s degree in office administration at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)—Taguig Campus, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the official school newspaper. See Regel’s published articles here.