The new omicron variant of COVID-19 is now on the doorstep of the United States.
Two confirmed cases were reported Sunday in Ottawa, the first to be announced in Canada, among a pair of individuals who recently traveled from Nigeria as questions are being raised about whether vaccines will be effective against the new variant.
“Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation,” the Ontario government said in a statement.
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The announcement follows Canada implementing new travel restrictions on flights from South Africa, where the new variant was first detected this month, and neighboring countries that went into effect on Friday. The World Health Organization announced Friday it is monitoring the omicron variant, declaring it a “variant of concern,” which is what the delta variant was labeled early in the summer, and the markets tumbled.
The latest mutated version of the virus has yet to be detected in the U.S., which has implemented similar travel restrictions set to be enforced Monday, but Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News on Sunday that the omicron variant will “inevitably” make its way here.
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President Joe Biden, upon returning from a Thanksgiving holiday stay in Nantucket, Massachusetts, had an in-person briefing Sunday afternoon with members of his COVID-19 response team, including Fauci, to provide an update on the omicron variant and the administration’s response.
“Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID. Dr. Fauci also reiterated that boosters for fully vaccinated individuals provide the strongest available protection from COVID,” said a readout from the White House. “The COVID Response Team’s immediate recommendation to all vaccinated adults is to get a booster shot as soon as possible; all adults are eligible for a booster if they were vaccinated six months ago or more with Pfizer or Moderna, or two months ago or more with Johnson & Johnson. Importantly, those adults and children who are not yet fully vaccinated should get vaccinated immediately.
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The White House said Biden will provide an update about the new variant and the U.S. response on Monday.
More than 261 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported across the world, and more than 5.1 million people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 dashboard. In the United States, there have been more than 2.2 million cases and more than 776,000 deaths.
