‘More unknown ... than we have known’: Idaho health officials prepare for COVID variant

Though there is still much to learn about the new COVID-19 variant that has caused concern in South Africa, called omicron, Idaho public health officials are preparing for cases in the United States and asking testing laboratories to watch for signs of the new strain.

International attention to the new variant grew quickly last week, and the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ public health arm, designated omicron a “variant of concern” on Friday. The classification means the new version of the virus may be more transmissible or virulent, or may decrease the effectiveness of available vaccines and treatments.

South African researchers notified the world of their findings after discovering multiple mutations in how the variant is composed, according to media reports. The findings have led multiple countries, including the U.S., to restrict travel from several countries in Africa.

“There is more unknown about this virus right now, this variant, than we have known,” Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist, said at a Department of Health and Welfare press briefing on Tuesday.

She said scientists are still studying whether the variant is more transmissible than the delta variant, which currently accounts for nearly all COVID-19 cases in Idaho and the U.S. Public health experts are concerned about the spread of omicron, which may be linked to a rapid rise in cases in South Africa, Hahn said.

No cases have been identified in Idaho or the U.S., but Hahn said she expects the discovery of cases in this country to be “imminent.” The variant has been found in Canada.

Dr. Christopher Ball, chief of the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories, told reporters that the bureau sent notification to clinical laboratories in the state on Monday asking them to watch for a particular indicator on COVID-19 tests that could be a sign of an omicron case.

On some PCR tests — one of two types of commonly used COVID-19 tests — there is a particular “gene target that doesn’t amplify,” Ball said. The peculiarity means that laboratories running PCR tests can look for test samples that lack this trait and single them out.

The state is currently sequencing about 9% of positive cases in the Gem State.

“We’re well-positioned to identify the omicron variant as it arises in Idaho,” Ball said.

Hahn added that researchers are still studying how effective the vaccines will be against the new strain, but noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded its booster shot recommendations, to the point that all adults get a booster.

“Early data from South Africa suggest increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant,” said a written statement from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

Booster shots should be received either six months after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or two months after the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

As recently as Nov. 22, crisis standards of care were activated statewide in Idaho, with health care workers facing an unprecedented number of hospital patients caused by an influx of almost entirely unvaccinated patients. Crisis standards remain activated in the northernmost part of the state, and Idaho’s vaccination rate remains among the worst in the nation, at 56.8% of those eligible.

“It’s a good opportunity, before we believe we have an omicron (cases) in the country, to use this opportunity to protect yourself,” Hahn said.

Judge halts Biden vaccine mandate for health workers

A federal judge in Louisiana put a halt on President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers on Tuesday, issuing a preliminary injunction while the case makes its way through court.

Idaho is one of roughly a dozen states that have filed suit against the administration over the mandate, implementation of which was scheduled to begin next week.

In an emailed statement, Gov. Brad Little called the mandate “illegal,” saying it is “breeding a level of resentment and distrust of government that will take generations to heal.”

The Biden administration has argued that amid stalling vaccination rates nationwide, vaccine requirements are effective and the only way to end the pandemic.

Idaho has also joined lawsuits filed against the Biden administration over vaccine mandates for federal contractors and employees of large businesses.