Omicron arrived to the U.S.: What questions do you have about the virus in Kansas City?
The omicron variant—the latest mutation of the virus that causes COVID-19—has not arrived in Kansas City, but public health officials are preparing as case counts continue to rise in the area. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 with the omicron variant in the United States was reported in California on Wednesday.
“Emerging COVID-19 variants can be highly unpredictable in the early stages,” said Donald Kauerauf, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, in a statement on Tuesday. “The most effective way to protect yourself or others from being impacted by COVID-19 variants is to get vaccinated or receive your booster dose when eligible.”
It’s still early on, and we don’t know a ton about omicron yet. Our Service Journalism team wants to bring you the most helpful information to know what action to take to keep you and your family safe, and we want to hear from you about what that is.
So far we’ve learned that...
- Missouri is testing wastewater to track for the variant.
- Local doctors are advising people to follow the same COVID-19 precautions as for other variants, including getting vaccinated, washing hands, wearing a mask and social distancing.
- The delta variant is still a bigger issue in Kansas City than omicron, and the number of cases in the community is on the rise.
- You can get vaccinated, boosted or tested for COVID-19 in the Kansas City area for free.
Fill out the form below to let us know what questions you have about omicron, vaccines, testing or anything else related to COVID-19 in Kansas City.
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 10:09 AM.