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First case of omicron variant detected in Iowa
['Katie Akin', 'More From Author', '- December']
Date: 2022-01
The omicron variant of COVID-19 has reached Iowa, the state Department of Public Health announced Thursday.
IDPH and the State Hygienic Lab detected the variant in an unvaccinated minor who lives in Black Hawk County. According to a Thursday news release, the individual has no symptoms, and the county’s public health department is monitoring their health.
IDPH Interim Director Kelly Garcia thanked Iowans who have been vaccinated, and she encouraged unvaccinated residents to speak with their doctor about receiving the shots.
“There is emerging evidence that a booster dose of vaccine offers protection against Omicron, which is great news,” Garcia said in a news release. “Vaccinated Iowans who have not yet received a booster should do so as soon as possible.”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press that more than 40 people in the U.S. have contracted the omicron variant. Of those, three-quarters were vaccinated. Walensky said nearly all of the cases were mild, with only one hospitalization and no deaths thus far.
Walensky also encouraged people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses. Early studies on the variant have indicated that omicron is more vaccine-resistant than earlier variants, but that a booster shot makes the initial vaccine doses more effective.
“What we generally know is the more mutations a variant has, the higher level you need your immunity to be. … We want to make sure we bolster everybody’s immunity,” Walensky said.
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