VA Confirms 1st Omicron Variant Case In Resident Who Didn't Travel Outside U.S.

VIRGINIA — The first case of the coronavirus omicron variant has been confirmed in Virginia in a resident who lives in the Northwest region of the state, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The person had no history of international travel, but did have a history of domestic travel during the exposure period, the VDH said Thursday evening. The omicron variant was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26.

“We knew it was only a matter of time before we would record our first omicron infection in the Commonwealth,” Virginia State Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said in a statement Thursday. “This drives home the challenge the COVID-19 virus presents to the world as the virus changes and mutates over time."

The VDH did not specify exactly where the resident lives. The Northwest region includes these health districts: Central Shenandoah, Lord Fairfax, Rappahannock, Rappahannock/Rapidan and Thomas Jefferson.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been working with state public health, academic and commercial laboratories to increase domestic strain surveillance capacity to sequence thousands of specimens every week. A commercial laboratory participating in these efforts identified the omicron variant in a sample from the Virginia resident and quickly notified the VDH, the department said.

The first case of the omicron variant in the United States was reported in California on Dec. 1, and was someone who had been vaccinated but had not gotten a booster shot. Omicron cases have since been confirmed in several other states, including Maryland.

"This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic," President Joseph Biden said last week.

"With the combined state and national surveillance efforts, it is likely that additional cases with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern will be identified," the VDH said Thursday. The department tracks variants that have been identified in Virginia and updates its variants dashboard weekly on Fridays.

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Scientists are still working to determine how omicron compares with the delta variant in terms of transmissibility and disease severity, and how much the existing vaccines and therapies protect against omicron. Based on the changed genetic make-up of omicron, some treatments are likely to remain effective, while others may be less effective, according to the CDC.

Right now, the delta variant is causing almost all cases of COVID-19 in the U.S.

"We have very effective vaccines that can interrupt the chain of transmission and reduce the odds that unpredictable mutations like the delta and omicron variants will emerge," Oliver said. "Vaccination is how Virginia, the U.S. and the world will put this pandemic behind us.”

Federal and state officials are promoting boosters for those who have already been vaccinated against COVID-19. The CDC offers a COVID-19 vaccine or booster locator.

On Dec. 3, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said the state's first three cases of the omicron variant were detected in residents who live in the Baltimore metro area. Two of the Maryland cases were from one household, including one person who was vaccinated and recently traveled to South Africa. The third case, which involved a vaccinated person, was unrelated to the other two and did not appear to be connected to travel.

No cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, results from an initial laboratory study showed that the omicron variant can partially dodge protection from two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer. The company announced the findings in a news release.

The study, which was not peer-reviewed, found that omicron likely reduces efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine but does not render it ineffective and that a third dose offers even greater protection against the new variant.

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