On November 24, a new variant of COVID-19 was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). This new variant was first detected in specimens collected on November 11 in Botswana and on November 14 in South Africa.

On November 26, the WHO named it Omicron and classified it as a Variant of Concern (VOC). On November 30, the United States designated Omicron as a VOC; and on December 1, the first confirmed case of Omicron was identified in the U.S.

The CDC has been collaborating with global public health and industry partners to learn about Omicron, as the CDC continues to monitor its course. The CDC has been using genomic surveillance throughout the course of the pandemic to track variants and advise on public health practices. The CDC doesn’t yet know how easily it spreads, the severity of illness it causes or how well available vaccines and medications work against it.

The CDC says despite the increased attention of Omicron, Delta continues to be the main variant circulating in the U.S.

The CDC is working with state and local public health officials to monitor the spread of Omicron.

At this point, the Omicron variant has been detected in 46 states, including Missouri.

You can find out more on Omicron variant data on CDC’s COVID Data Tracker at <https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions>.