Ohio has officially recorded the state's first two cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19, according to state health officials.
The Ohio Department of Health said the two cases were detected in adult males from Central Ohio, who both test positive to PCR tests on Tuesday. Genomic sequencing conducted in a laboratory at Ohio State University.
"We have known that it would only be a matter of time until a case of Omicron was detected in Ohio," said Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, in a news release Saturday.
While the the existence of omicron within the state was only just confirmed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the variant has been circulating within the U.S. since November, according to Vanderhoff.
Both patients received their initial COVID-19 vaccine series six months ago but neither had received a booster dose, officials said. Their symptoms are mild and neither patient has been hospitalized.
Vanderhoff noted that despite omicron's arrival in Ohio, the delta variant continues to drive the state's case rate and hospitalizations.
"As of yesterday, there were 4,422 patients in the hospital with COVID-19, a high that matches what we experienced in January of 2021 during last winter’s surge," Vanderhoff said. "The hospitalizations in this Delta surge are largely being driven by unvaccinated Ohioans. Severe illness with COVID-19 is largely preventable thanks to vaccines."
Public health data shows that around 54% of the state's population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Vanderhoff said the variant may be "more contagious and more likely to reinfect people," though there are positive signs that current vaccines and boosters are still effective.
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