the new covid variant omicron hit the u.s. with dr. fauci announcing the first detected case while speaking at the white house. this is the first confirmed case of covid-19 caused by the omicron variant detected in the united states. we knew it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the united states. the first case showing up in san francisco according to the cdc. it got there through a person that travelled to america from south africa on november 22nd. the person was fully vaccinated and now has mild symptoms. officials tested their contacts and found no spreading. a doctor explains how they nailed this down quickly. we were able to confirm the detection of omicron within five hours and had most of the genome within eight hours. so, 4:00 a.m. last night we assembled most of the genome and were able to conclusively demonstrate this was indeed an infection from the omicron variant. as people brace for what will be a third year