3 Things to Know About the Omicron Variant

Omicron could be more dangerous than previous variants

It’s still too early to say what all these mutations mean, but studies underway are starting to provide some answers. 

One thing that’s for certain: Omicron’s presence in the U.S. is quickly increasing. In just a week it went from causing a small slice of new COVID-19 cases to becoming the dominant variant, knocking delta out of its long-held position.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expecting a surge in new infections as the variant takes hold. The agency says omicron’s rapid rise is believed to be a result of a combination of mutations that make it more contagious and better able to sidestep some of the protections afforded by the vaccines or a previous infection. 

Additional data is needed to determine whether omicron will cause more severe illness compared to other variants — some preliminary reports suggest it may actually be less severe, although it’s too early to say for sure — and what breakthrough infections might look like in people who have been vaccinated and boosted. Researchers are also studying whether our current suite of treatments will still be able to hold up against COVID. Based on some of omicron’s changes, the CDC says, “some treatments are likely to remain effective, while others may be less effective.” Most tests are expected to identify a coronavirus infection caused by omicron, the Food and Drug Administration has said. 

Masks, vaccines and boosters are key

Public health experts say omicron's arrival in the U.S. doesn't change the best measures of protection — the ones they have been encouraging all along.

“I don't think that this changes the fundamentals of what we know works for protecting against transmission of the virus. I don't think that this is necessarily going to make masks less effective; it's not going to make social distancing less effective. These are the things that are tried and true,” Ozer says.

With winter here, it’s also important to avoid poorly ventilated spaces and crowded indoor settings, both of which give the virus more of an opportunity to spread.

A booster shot, if you haven’t had one already, will enhance your protection against COVID. That’s because the vaccines don’t just zero in on one part of the spike protein, they target multiple parts of it, “and so loss of effectiveness against one part of this spike protein may not affect antibodies that have been developed against other parts,” Ozer says. And what a booster shot does is give those antibodies some extra oomph.

With a high enough antibody level, hand in hand with “other elements of the immune response,” Fauci said, “there’s every reason to believe” the vaccines will continue to be able to keep people from getting severely ill from omicron and other variants.  

Both Pfizer and Moderna are working on developing an omicron-specific vaccine that could be available as early as spring of 2022, in case one is needed.

COVID testing is another action that experts are encouraging with omicron here. Rapid tests can help to quickly identify cases before they spread. And along with other precautionary measures, they can bring peace of mind to people as they gather over the holidays.

Finally: Get your flu shot. If omicron does turn out to be a more virulent version of the virus, the “last thing we want is a twindemic — an outbreak of COVID and an outbreak of flu at the same time — both hitting our hospitals simultaneously,” Schaffner says.

“I would just say it’s time to redouble your efforts; we're not out of the woods yet,” Ozer says. “I think the emergence of this variant is a sure sign of that, so we just need to keep doing the things that we need to do, which is protecting ourselves and protecting our families [and] those around us.”

Editor's Note: This story, originally published on Dec. 15, 2021, has been updated to reflect new information.

Rachel Nania writes about health care and health policy for AARP. Previously she was a reporter and editor for WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C. A recipient of a Gracie Award and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, she also participated in a dementia fellowship with the National Press Foundation.​