Santa Clara County health officials said today they’ve received their first report of a case of the Covid variant Omicron, which produces mild or imperceptible symptoms.
The case was reported Thursday involving someone who was fully vaccinated but has not received a booster. The person had recently returned from traveling out of the state and is currently in isolation, according to the county.
A study from South Africa found that Omicron has the same characteristics as the common cold, though most people infected with it experienced no symptoms at all.
“Overall the disease has appeared to be milder, but these are very early days,” Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute told the BBC.
“Although there are still many unknowns about this variant, we strongly recommend getting vaccinated and getting your booster if you haven’t already to help guard against Omicron,” Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s director of public health, said in a statement.
Appointments for vaccinations including booster shots are available at county clinics by visiting http://www.sccfreevax.org and people can also find appointments at http://myturn.ca.gov or by checking with their doctor or local pharmacies. — Staff and wire reports
Cody was in charge when Santa Clara County racked up the highest per capita death rate from Covid of any Bay Area county. Negligence bordering on criminal conduct.
“Although there are still many unknowns about this variant, we strongly recommend getting vaccinated and getting your booster if you haven’t already to help guard against Omicron,” Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s director of public health, said in a statement..
This is a ridiculous and self contradictory statement. The vaccines target only a small feature of the Covid virus, the spike protein. If omicron does not have this protein, it will totally evade the vaccine. We do not know if the protein is present in omicron. Disinformation like this serves to dissuade people from getting vaccines.