How Colorado Is Monitoring For New Omicron Variant

COLORADO — Colorado public health officials are working with federal agencies and the White House to monitor the spread of the new omicron variant, which has not yet been detected in the U.S.

Little is known about the new variant, which has been linked to a surge of cases in South Africa. Cases have since been reported in Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, Britain, and other countries. The U.S. and dozens of other countries now have bans on travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has several mechanisms to detect the virus:

• The state lab, along with private and commercial labs, conducts genome sequencing on samplings of tests. Genome sequencing allows scientists to detect the variants. Colorado is fourth in the nation for percentage of cases genome sequenced, according to the latest surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• The state leads a wastewater monitoring collaboration with utilities, to monitor levels of COVID-19 virus particles found in wastewater. Studies have shown that almost half of those who develop COVID-19 have detectable virus particles in their stool before, during, and after their infection, including people without symptoms, public health officials said. The state lab looks for genetic markers in wastewater and is able to identify markers consistent with the presence of COVID-19 variants, including omicron, through wastewater monitoring.

Don’t miss the latest news updates in Denver, Boulder, Arvada, Lakewood and Littleton. Sign up for free Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

“Pandemics aren’t easy. The virus is tricky and trying to survive us at every turn, but we know what to do to help stop it,” said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“We need everyone to do what they’ve done in the past and continue to take precautions. Protecting yourself against other variants, like the delta variant, as well as the flu, will help us be ready for if/when the omicron variant arrives here.”

Coloradans are urged to get their booster shots as soon as possible if it has been at least six months since they got their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or at least two months since they got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, public health officials said. Flu shots will also help ease the burden on Colorado's health care system.

From just over 200 new confirmed cases per day in recent weeks, South Africa saw the number of new daily cases rocket to 2,465 on Thursday. Struggling to explain the sudden rise in cases, scientists studied virus samples from the outbreak and discovered the new variant, which appears to have a high number of mutations — a factor could allow it to spread faster, scientists with the University of Cambridge said.

Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, described the variant as "the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen." He said it was concerning that although the variant was only being detected in low levels in parts of South Africa, "it looks like it's spreading rapidly."

So far, there is no indication the variant causes more-severe disease. South African experts said that, as with other variants, some infected people don't have any symptoms.

Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London, said it was impossible to make any predictions about whether the virus was more dangerous or infectious based on its genetic makeup alone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed that federal health officials are better-prepared to battle a surge of the omicron variant than it was a year ago when the delta variant arrived, noting that the CDC has launched a new surveillance system to specifically track the omicron variant.

>> There are more than 1700 vaccine providers across Colorado — find one here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.