Omicron Variant Gaining Ground In Washington: Report

SEATTLE — The omicron variant has not been in Washington long, but it appears to be spreading rapidly, according to a recent report from the New York Times.

The Washington State Department of Health confirmed its first-ever omicron cases on Dec. 4, with one case each found in Thurston, Pierce and King counties. But in the 10 days since, many more have followed. According to the Times' report, University of Washington virologists on Wednesday found that 13 percent of the 217 positive coronavirus samples had a mutation characteristic of the omicron variant, up seven percent from the day before and three percent from the day before that.

While 217 cases is a relatively small sample size, researchers say it's enough to give some sense of the trajectory omicron will take.

“It’s clearly looking like it’s rising really quickly,” said Dr. Pavitra Roychoudhury, Acting Instructor with the UW School of Medicine.

Dr. Trevor Bedford, an expert on the spread and evolution of virus with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, told the Times that omicron likely isn't having a large impact on case counts just yet, but likely will starting next week, and may eventually become the dominant COVID-19 strain in Washington.

“There is an inevitable very large wave of omicron,” Bedford said. “It’s going to happen.”

Fortunately, state health leaders say Washington is more prepared for an omicron wave than it was the delta wave.

"Even with a highly mutated virus like omicron, we are not going back to square one of the pandemic," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County's top health official. "Omicron may pose new challenges that we will need to respond to, but compared to the early days of the pandemic, we know much more about COVID-19, and we're better prepared for it. We know layered protections work together to maximally reduce risk, and that will continue to be the case for delta and for omicron if that becomes a dominant strain circulating in our community."

While experts have shared growing concerns that omicron may be more transmissible than other variants, there has been little indication that the variant causes more severe symptoms than delta or other previous variants. It also is unlikely, local leaders say, that the variant will be able to overcome COVID-19 vaccination.

"We knew that it was a matter of time before omicron was sequenced in our state, and so we were anticipating this very news," said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, Secretary of Health. "We strongly urge people to get vaccinated and get their boosters as soon as possible to maximize their level of protection from any variant."