Here comes omicron

It was always just a matter of time.

Texas has identified its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant, a strain flagged as potentially more infectious than any that has come before it, including the delta variant responsible for surges still happening across the country, state health officials said on Monday.

The variant was identified in Texas in a Harris County woman in her 40s, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services and county Judge Lina Hidalgo.

Many questions still surround omicron, even as it remains high on the radar of state and federal health officials.

While early indicators suggest the variant is very contagious, it’s still unknown whether it will infect people at a faster rate or cause more hospitalizations than the delta variant, which currently represents nearly all the active cases in Texas.

It could also take another month, experts say, to figure out how effective vaccines or natural immunity will be against the omicron variant.

Other unknowns include how sick it will make those infected and whether it will be milder or more aggressive than the delta variant.

Hidalgo said the woman in whom the variant was detected has no recent history of travel.

You can hear Dr. Peter Hotez talk about omicron and delta on CityCast Houston’s Monday podcast episode. I don’t have to tell you to get your shots and your booster, do I? There’s one way out of this, and that’s it.

UPDATE: Yeah, we detected it in the wastewater. A week ago. So, yeah.

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