Washington DOH: 'Just A Matter Of Time' Until Omicron Is Here

SEATTLE — The newest COVID-19 variant of concern, omicron, has not been formally detected in Washington, but it's going to be here soon, experts warn, giving health leaders precious little time to learn more about the mutant virus before it arrives.

Unfortunately, there are still many unknowns, including how transmissible the new variant is, and how well it holds up against vaccination.

"There is a lot of information that all of us want to know, but there is a lot of information that we do not know," said Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah.

According to the latest update from the World Health Organization, the omicron variant has been linked to a spike of COVID-19 cases in South America, where it was first discovered last week, but it's still unknown if the variant is more transmissible, or more dangerous, than other variants like delta and alpha.

"Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron," the agency said. " There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants."

However, preliminary evidence shows that omicron may be more likely to re-infect patients who have already had COVID-19. It's still unknown if current COVID-19 vaccines can fully protect against the omicron strain, and it may be weeks before their effectiveness can be determined.

Those concerns loom large, but the DOH says this year's delta strain sweep has prepared them for an event just like this.

"We have learned a lot from our delta experience," Shah said. "One is that these variants compete with each other over time, and it is really important to keep that in mind. There was a point where the delta variant was a very small portion of what we were finding in our state."

Washington has used genome sequencing to identify COVID-19 variants for over a year now, and state health leaders say they will continue that effort to catch and identify omicron when it arrives.

"Our system has been able to detect it, is actively looking for it, and will be available for any other variants that are coming," said State Epidemiologist Scott Lindquist, MD MPH. "We are quite aware of what omicron is and where it is, but we have just not seen it here in Washington state."

Cases of the new variant have 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, but experts say it's likely the variant has already made its way into the states, and it won't be long before it's discovered in Washington. Fortunately, existing COVID-19 testing should be able to detect omicron infections as normal.

"There's really no evidence that we're not going to be able to detect this variant," said UW Medicine's Dr. Alex Greninger. "We've seen that with all the other variants, there's been very little effect on the testing performance."

While the state and health leaders across the world rush to learn more about omicron transmission and vaccine vulnerability, the Washington Department of Health is simply urging Washington residents to keep playing it safe: that means continuing to wear masks in public, practice social distancing, and, of course, getting vaccines and boosters as necessary.

"If you have not gotten vaccinated, even your first dose, this is the time to get your vaccine," Shah said.

Related: The New Omicron Variant: What Washingtonians Should Know