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Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. [ 10][ 11] It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world. [ 12]
On 26 November at an emergency meeting in Geneva, Switzerland WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution designated PANGO lineage B.1.1.529 a variant of concern (VOC) and gave it the designation Omicron (skipping Nu and Xi, the next letters in the Greek alphabet in keeping with its nomenclature protocol introduced for the Delta variant).
Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2) are viruses that, while similar to the original, have genetic changes that are of enough significance to lead virologists to label them separately. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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After Labor Day, California health officials expect to quickly get to work on the next expansive phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign: distributing and administering newly authorized ...
The CDC recommends people ages 12 and older get the new shots, which target the latest Omicron subvariants as well as the original coronavirus strain.
The January 2022 emergence of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered in South Africa, led to record highs in hospitalizations and cases in early 2022, with as many as 1.5 million new infections reported in a single day. [27] By the end of 2022, an estimated 77.5% of Americans had had COVID-19 at least once, according to the CDC. [28]
California's winter COVID-19 surge intensified Wednesday, with new overall coronavirus cases likely tied to holiday gatherings spiking up, along with confirmed cases of the Omicron strain.