The COVID-19 omicron variant has been detected through genomic sequencing in Cleveland Clinic's lab, according to a Dec. 13 Ideastream Public Media report.
A small percentage of the Cleveland Clinic health system's positive COVID-19 tests are sequenced each week, and the rest of the cases in the most recent lab sample were primarily the delta variant, the report said.
Omicron appears to be more transmissible than delta, and its high number of mutations seems to allow it to evade vaccine antibodies easier than delta, which remains the primary variant of concern.
The patient tested positive earlier in December, the report said. Officials declined to provide any further information about the patient, such as whether they were vaccinated.