USC students tests positive for Omicron variant
A USC student has tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant — the third confirmed case in Los Angeles County and one of only a few dozen in the United States, Chief Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said in a student media briefing Monday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health first announced the positive case in a news release Monday morning. According to the release, a college student tested positive after their travels to the east coast over the holidays. The student is “fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms, and is self-isolating,” the statement read.
The release also stated that L.A. Department of Public Health has alerted those in close contact with the individual. Those individuals are all currently quarantining and have received testing.
According to an update on USC’s Covid-19 Resource Center website the same day, the case was identified via the University’s surveillance testing. The L.A. Department of Public Health also reached out to the University to confirm that the positive case was a USC student. Upon hearing of the case, Van Orman arranged a media briefing to share the news with the community.
“We did want to make sure that we were being transparent with our community and letting them know that this was a returning USC student,” Van Orman said.
USC will continue to check for potential Omicron variant cases at USC by sending positive coronavirus samples to the L.A. Department of Public Health. The department’s lab shares the existence of variants with the University, but does not release the information to the individual and, instead, uses the lab results for public health purposes.
According to Van Orman, the predominant strain found in testing over the last several months has been the Delta variant.
USC Student Health encourages unvaccinated students to get vaccinated, eligible students to receive their booster shot and all students to continue testing for the coronavirus and to stay home when sick.
Growing numbers of coronavirus cases pose a concern for Student Health, particularly as students plan to travel as early as this week.
“Again, the overwhelming majority [of coronavirus cases] are still Delta,” Van Orman said “There are still parts of the country where cases are really surging, and, so, we are very concerned about travel.”
With growing travel restrictions in a number of countries, such as Canada and Australia, Student Health urges international travelers to have a “Plan B” if they happen to test positive for the coronavirus during their travels.
The University is evaluating the possibility of requiring a booster shot for students but lacks the data necessary to create a requirement. However, the University encourages all students to get their booster shot, Van Orman said.
Early research from a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa suggests that the Omicron variant could cause less severe illness than previous variants, but that a prior coronavirus infection offers less immunity. However, according to Van Orman all the data surrounding the Omicron variant is very preliminary.
“The one thing we do know about Omicron is that people who were previously infected do appear to be at higher risk of reinfection with Omicron than some of the other variants,” Van Orman said.
With the upcoming winter break, Van Orman urges students to get tested before traveling home as it is expected that the Omicron variant will spread in L.A. County over the coming days and weeks.
“We don’t want people to leave campus and spread any COVID into the communities that they’re coming home to,” Van Orman said. “With the rapid travel for Thanksgiving, travel back and then travel for the holidays, there’s a lot of risk.”