The first Omicron case confirmed in Houston, Dallas County health officials closely monitoring the situation
Dallas, TX – The Omicron variant cases have already been confirmed in multiple states across the country and Texas is among them as the first positive case with the newest Covid-19 variant was discovered in Houston.
While Harris County Public Health and the state health department are investigating the first known case of the new omicron variant in Texas, Dallas County health officials are closely monitoring the situation as they expect to see the first Omicron cases in near future.
Reportedly, the Omicron variant cases are seen in at least 19 states across the country.
The Houston Chronicle is reporting evidence that the new variant was found in eight wastewater treatment plants, leading doctors to believe the variant has already spread to some degree.
Although some of the initial studies have shown that the Omicron variant of the deadly virus is not that dangerous since most of the cases so far only had mild symptoms, health experts across the country are preparing for tough several months ahead with both Delta and Omicron in place.
“What we have to face is the likelihood we’re going to be looking at a twin epidemic in the United States,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “I think, first of all, delta isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s highly transmissible. We’re now in for a winter delta wave again.”
In the last couple of months, both national and Texas health experts have been warning about potential winter wave, similar to the one that took place last year after the holiday season. With the Omicron variant already in the state, those concerns are rising.
“Another thing about the person in Houston is they had no travel history,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “So what that tells us is they got it from somebody here in America. It’s likely omicron is spreading through many urban areas that we don’t know about.”
The best weapon the humanity has against the virus are surely the vaccines. That said, North Texas and Dallas County health experts are encouraging those vaccinated to get the booster dose of the vaccines in an effort to improve their immunity and slowing a potential new Covid-19 winter wave.
“If you look at the proportion of delta and how delta just took over everything, you think early on there were a few cases. But then it’s 99% of the cases now are delta,” said Dallas County Health Director Dr. Philip Huang. “That’s what they’re looking at in South Africa. They’re seeing some of the omicron taking more.”
Although Omicron cases seem to have less severe condition, everyone should be fully prepared for a potential new wave.