PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Division of Well being says they’re protecting an in depth eye out for the COVID-19 omicron variant following experiences that it has been detected in international locations across the globe.
No circumstances of the omicron variant have been recognized in Philadelphia, well being officers mentioned in a press release launched Monday.
Philadelphia officers say they’re working with the Facilities for Illness Management to study extra about what to anticipate. Earlier within the day Monday, President Joe Biden called the new strain a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s prime infectious illness knowledgeable and Biden’s main COVID-19 adviser, mentioned earlier Monday that there have been as but nonetheless no cases of the variant identified in the U.S. however that it was “inevitable” that it might make its means into the nation finally.
Fauci mentioned scientists hope to know within the subsequent week or two how well the existing COVID-19 vaccines protect towards the brand new variant, and the way harmful it’s in comparison with earlier strains.
Biden mentioned he doesn’t anticipate the necessity for any new virus-related restrictions, past final week’s transfer to limit journey from South Africa and 7 different international locations within the area efficient Monday
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Biden additionally emphasised the significance of vaccination to guard towards all variants of the COVID-19 virus and the urgency of vaccinating the roughly 80 million People aged 5 and up who have not obtained a shot.
On Friday, a World Well being Group panel named the newest variant “omicron” and categorized it as a extremely transmissible virus of concern, the identical class that features the predominant delta variant — which continues to be a scourge driving larger circumstances of illness and dying in Europe and elements of the USA.
Omicron’s precise dangers are usually not absolutely understood but. However early proof suggests it carries an elevated danger of reinfection in contrast with different extremely transmissible variants, the WHO mentioned. Which means individuals who contracted COVID-19 and recovered may very well be topic to catching it once more. It may take weeks to know if present vaccines are much less efficient towards it.
Medical consultants, together with the WHO, warned towards any overreaction earlier than the variant was completely studied. However a jittery world feared the worst after the tenacious virus triggered a pandemic that has killed greater than 5 million individuals across the globe.
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