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What is the Omicron Variant? -Maya Ash




The Omicron variant is a recent strain of Covid-19 first found in South Africa around mid-November 2021. Unfortunately, it began to spread to other countries of the world soon after.


Particularly, this variant is different from the previous strains because it contains more mutations than other variants. Since it is very new, health professionals are still trying to understand and study the Omicron variant and how effectively the vaccines will help to prevent it. However, the more antibodies a person has, the more protected they are, and that is why people are encouraged to get the COVID-19 booster shot.


Consequently, the more people infected, the more likely we are to have more variants. And every time the virus infects us, the chances of more mutations increase.


The issue with this particular variant is it spreads more quickly than others based on evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the link below. However, taking vaccines and precautions, including avoiding crowded areas, distancing yourself from others, opening windows to improve ventilation indoors, washing your hands, and wearing a mask will help prevent the spread of the virus.


According to the data in the embedded infographic, this new variant spread throughout the country in 8 territories. The current average number of cases in a 7-day period is around 122,297 with an increase of 1.5% in the United States. And as of right now, health professionals are actively monitoring and studying the Omicron variant. And as the weather tends to get colder, people are more likely to gather indoors and getting the booster shot will help to prevent infection with friends, family, and yourself. For more information from the CDC, click here.

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