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The first country to really get hit by omicron is South Africa. Before the new variant took off last month, coronavirus cases there were low – only several hundred per day in mid November. But by early December, the tally of daily infections had shot up to more than 4,500 — and genomic sequencing shows that omicron is to blame. What's more, the variant quickly swept through all regions of South Africa – and has now shown up in about 60 additional countries. Omicron hasn't yet triggered a global wave, but many scientists who are tracking its rapid spread believe it's only a matter of time. (Stone, 12/10)

Data flooding in from South Africa and Europe is clear: The Omicron variant is spreading extremely quickly, including among vaccinated people. If this trend holds up, that means a lot of people — around the world and in the U.S. — are about to get sick, even if only mildly so. An early estimate published yesterday by the UK found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are only about 30% effective against symptomatic infection with Omicron, and the AstraZeneca vaccine isn't effective at all. (Owens, 12/11)

s the Omicron variant snowballs in South Africa and widens its inroads in Europe, evidence is mounting that it can outcompete the highly transmissible Delta variant — a potential warning signal for the United States. Viruses perform differently in different places, depending on what other variants are circulating and on what the landscape of immunity looks like. But Omicron is picking up speed in Europe, which has often served as a preview of what was headed the U.S.’s way. It’s an early sign that the already bleak situation here may get worse. (Joseph, 12/10)

As the omicron variant sweeps through South Africa, Dr. Unben Pillay is seeing dozens of sick patients a day. Yet he hasn’t had to send anyone to the hospital. That’s one of the reasons why he, along with other doctors and medical experts, suspect that the omicron version really is causing milder COVID-19 than delta, even if it seems to be spreading faster. “They are able to manage the disease at home,” Pillay said of his patients. “Most have recovered within the 10 to 14-day isolation period.” said Pillay. (Meldrum, 12/11)

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease Sunday, his office said. Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed COVID-19, a statement from the presidency announced. He is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service, the statement said. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week. (Meldrum, 12/12)

To keep up with changes to the virus that causes Covid-19, scientists are using a technology called genomic sequencing. The process starts with a Covid-19 test. Some samples that test positive for the coronavirus in a laboratory are pulled aside and sent off for sequencing, a review of the virus’s genetic material that can take as little as a day or more than a week. The SARS-CoV-2 genome has about 30,000 individual building blocks to decode, compared with about three billion in the human genome. (Abbott and Cervantes, 12/12)

As researchers race to learn about the new omicron variant, genomic sequencing in Oklahoma and across the world will be crucial in learning where and how the strain spreads. Oklahoma has long ranked last out of all other states in the percentage of COVID-19 samples it has sequenced out of its total cases. But cumulative totals mask some of Oklahoma’s more recent improvements on sequencing, and state health officials say they’re doing enough sequencing to have a grasp on what variants are circulating. (Branham, 12/12)

When the Omicron variant emerged last month, scientists were shocked to find it had 50 genetic changes, many of which pose a threat to human health. Where did this strange and menacing viral beast come from? Just as no one knows whether Omicron will overpower vaccines or how quickly it will spread in the United States, its origins remain a mystery. But experts have theories. The most popular holds that Omicron evolved within a single individual with a weak immune system. Another theory suggests it took shape unnoticed in a population where there was little vaccination or testing. A third hypothesis posits that the virus, after originally leaping from animals to humans, jumped back into animals and formed mutations that went on to infect people. (Freyer, 12/11)

KHN: Journalists Discuss Omicron, Public Health, Culturally Competent Care

KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed how Black tech entrepreneurs are trying to solve neglected health care issues on the America’s Heroes Group podcast Dec. 4. She talked about health technology and culturally competent care on KTVU on Dec. 1. ... KHN interim Southern Bureau Editor Andy Miller spoke about the omicron variant of the covid-19 virus on WUGA’s “Georgia Health Report” and Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind” Dec. 3. ... KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed the covid pandemic and Missouri’s public health infrastructure on the “Healthy You: Surviving a Pandemic” podcast Dec. 2. (12/11)