CHESHIRE COUNTY, N.H. — The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Monday it has identified the state's first known case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
According to New Hampshire DHHS, a resident of Cheshire County who traveled out of state was exposed to another person who subsequently was identified with the omicron variant infection.
The New Hampshire resident, who was considered fully vaccinated but was not yet boosted, had a mild illness and has since recovered during home isolation, the state said.
Close contacts are taking appropriate public health precautions, and there have been no identified public or occupational exposures, according to health officials.
The omicron variant has now been detected in more than 30 states. It has not been detected in Maine.
How can you protect yourself from the omicron variant? The same way you guard against COVID-19 caused by any other variant: Get vaccinated if you haven’t yet, get a booster if you’re eligible, and step up other precautions you may have relaxed, like wearing a mask and avoiding crowds.
For all the attention omicron is getting, the overwhelming cause of infections and deaths in many places remains the extra-contagious delta variant.
“Delta is the real risk right now. Omicron is an uncertain threat,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press. Regardless of the coronavirus type, Collins said, "We do know what to do.”
It will take a few weeks to learn key aspects about this latest variant, including whether it's more contagious, causes more severe illness, or evades immunity— and if so, how by much.
In the meantime, “what we need to do is add more layers of protection,” Dr. Julie Vaishampayan of the Infectious Diseases Society of America said. That's especially important with holiday travel and gatherings around the corner.
A booster shot is one of those layers. The added dose triggers a big jump in virus-fighting antibodies. Even if the antibodies don't prove quite as effective against omicron as they are against other variants, simply having more of them might compensate—in addition to bolstering protection against delta.
