Minnesota reports second U.S. case of omicron Covid in a resident who traveled to New York

Minnesota public health authorities on Thursday confirmed what appears to be the second U.S. case of the omicron Covid version in a resident who recently returned from New York, the state Department of Health said.

The man, who was fully vaccinated and has since recovered, traveled to New York to attend the 2021 Anime NYC Convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19-21, the department said. The first case of omicron was confirmed by U.S. officials in California on Wednesday at a person who recently returned to San Francisco from a trip to South Africa.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to address the public from Manhattan at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

Health officials in the U.S. and around the world are concerned that omicron is more transmissible and may to some extent circumvent the protection provided by currently available vaccines. The variant has about 50 mutations, more than 30 of which are on the spike protein used by the virus to attach to human cells.

“Molecular profile of the types of mutations you see [in omicron] I would suggest that it could be more tolerated and that vaccine protection could be avoided, “White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday.” But we don’t know that right now. “

The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled a plan to combat omicron and the possible winter rise of the dominant delta version of the virus. The White House requires all international travelers to arrive to be tested at Covid within 24 hours of departure. The administration is extending the requirements for masks on domestic flights and public transport until March 18. It also expands access to free Covid tests at home.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that omicron has been validated in at least 23 countries around the world. The version was first identified in Botswana last month and has been highlighted by WHO public health officials in South Africa.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical head, said on Wednesday that the number of hospitalizations in South Africa was increasing, but more data were needed before we could conclude whether omicron was causing more serious diseases.

A patient in California who has tested positive for omicron has been fully vaccinated, has mild symptoms and is improving, Governor Gavin told News on Wednesday. A person between the ages of 18 and 49 did not receive a booster dose because less than six months had passed since the original vaccination course.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Secretary of Health and Human Services, said the fact that the patient has mild symptoms and is improving underscores the importance of vaccines.

CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna say it will take about two weeks to gather enough data to determine what impact omicron mutations have on the effectiveness of current vaccines. They said it will take until early 2022 to develop a clip specifically focused on the version. However, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company could introduce an increased injection at a higher dose much faster.