CDC report reveals nearly 79% of Omicron cases have been among vaccinated patients

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday that most of the people in the U.S known to have the new omicron variant of the coronavirus have been vaccinated. Some had even received their booster shot, and the majority of patients experienced mild symptoms.

This is the first CDC report on the omicron variant, and it shows that vaccination does not provide protection against infection. It also indicates the first few cases are generally mild or moderate.

The CDC Covid Response Team reported, “One vaccinated patient was hospitalized for 2 days, and no deaths have been reported to date. Case investigations have identified exposures associated with international and domestic travel, large public events, and household transmission.”

The researchers added, “The earliest date of symptom onset was November 15 in a person with a history of international travel. Fourteen (33%) persons reported international travel during the 14 days preceding symptom onset or receipt of a positive test result.”

According to the report, 79 percent of those infected with the strain had been fully vaccinated, and another five of the 14 who had received booster shots had gotten them at least two weeks prior to infection, and they should have had full levels of immune protection.

Researchers also noted, “The most commonly reported symptoms were cough, fatigue, and congestion or runny nose.” At this time, delta is the dominant strain present in the U.S., although researchers warned that more omicron cases could arise in the next few days.

“Given the 2-3 weeks from the time of specimen collection to availability of sequence data for analysis, it is likely that additional infections with Omicron from late November will be detected during the coming days,” they said.