PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Health (SD-DOH) confirms that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in South Dakota.
The findings were verified by the Public Health Laboratory in Pierre.
While only one case of the variant has been identified in Minnehaha County among a male in his 20’s, it is safe to assume other cases across the state may exist given the variant’s increased transmission.
Joshua Clayton, State Epidemiologist, says “the best way to protect yourself from severe disease with this variant is to get vaccinated.”
He says “we urge South Dakotans to monitor for symptoms and get tested as soon as they experience symptoms.”
Concerns of the ‘Omicron’ variant include a greater rate of transmission from person to person, reduced effectiveness of existing treatments, and reduced protection of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, currently available vaccines have so far proven effective to protect people against hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
The ‘Omicron’ variant was first detected in South Africa in November and was first detected in the United States on December 1.
