Current Events > Minnesota reports second U.S. omicron Covid case in resident who traveled to NYC

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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/minnesota-reports-second-us-omicron-covid-case-in-resident-who-traveled-to-nyc.html

Minnesota public health authorities confirmed Thursday what appears to be the second U.S. case of the omicron Covid variant in a resident who recently returned from New York City, the states department of health said. The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered, traveled to New York City to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19-21, the department said in a statement. The first omicron case was confirmed in California by U.S. officials Wednesday in a person who recently returned to San Francisco from a trip to South Africa.

Health officials in the U.S. and around the world are concerned that omicron is more transmissible and may evade the protection provided by currently available vaccines to some degree. The variant has some 50 mutations, more than 30 of which are on the spike protein that the virus uses to attach to human cells. The molecular profile of the kinds of mutations that you see [in omicron] would suggest that it might be more transmissible and that it might elude some of the protection of vaccines, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters on Wednesday. But we dont know that now. The Biden administration on Thursday laid out a plan to combat omicron and a possible winter surge of the predominant delta variant of the virus. The White house is requiring all in-bound international travelers to test for Covid within 24 hours of their departure. The administration is extending mask requirements on domestic flights and public transit through March 18. It is also expanding access to free at-home Covid tests. The World Health Organization on Wednesday said omicron has been confirmed in at least 23 countries worldwide. The variant was first identified in Botswana last month and brought to the attention of the WHO by public health officials in South Africa.



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Lebronwon posted...

The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered

important part.
Seems like the current vaccines are doing something useful against this one.

Doesnt this kind of confirm Omicron was probably spreading around the world before South Africa announced it. That kinda fucked up they got punished for being the first to say a new variant was a thing.

Also probably the first time saying I dont watch that Naruto crap probably saved some lives.


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The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered, traveled to New York City to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention

Miyazaki was more right than we knew.

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Questionmarktarius posted...

important part.
Seems like the current vaccines are doing something useful against this one.

One isn't a meaningful sample size. With all variants, the majority of people have recovered. When we have a significant number of Omicron cases, we'll be able to make this call. And hopefully, the protection at least against severe disease will continue to hold up - certianly there's no reason to assume the worst, but we can't yet rule it out either.

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Trumble posted...

One isn't a meaningful sample size.

but... the sample size doubled, apparently this morning.

masterpug53 posted...

The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered, traveled to New York City to attend the Anime NYC 2021 convention

Miyazaki was more right than we knew.

It would be a fucking weeaboo.

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