Ayass Bioscience, a testing lab in Frisco, confirmed two cases of the new variant Wednesday night involving a 35 and 40-year-old. Neither has a recent travel history. 

This news comes after the first case was detected in the Houston area on Monday. The first case of omicron in the U.S. was identified on Dec. 1, 2021.

“At this time, we are still waiting for scientific data to answer everyone’s questions about this variant such as whether or not it is more contagious, whether or not it causes worse disease, and whether or not our vaccines can prevent it,” said Mary Suzanne Whitworth, M.D., medical director of Infectious Diseases at Cook Children’s.

The CDC stresses that “vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging.”

While the vaccine remains the most effective way to combat COVID-19, data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released on Dec. 1 found that only 12% of young Texans, ages 5-11 years old are immunized, and 61% of Texas teens have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Dr. Whitworth and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that everyone 5 years and older protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated. They also strongly advise that everyone ages 18 years and older should get a booster shot at least two months after their initial J&J/Janssen vaccine or six months after completing their primary COVID-19 vaccination series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

 “COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death,” the CDC adds. “Scientists are currently investigating omicron, including how protected fully vaccinated people will be against infection, hospitalization, and death.”

What we know about the omicron variant (from the CDC):

• How easily does omicron spread? The omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and how easily omicron spreads compared to delta remains unknown. CDC expects that anyone with omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms.
• Will omicron cause more severe illness? More data is needed to know if omicron infections, and especially reinfections and breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated, cause more severe illness or death than infection with other variants.
• Will vaccines work against omicron? Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are likely to occur. With other variants, like delta, vaccines have remained effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. The recent emergence of omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters.
• Will treatments work against omicron? Scientists are working to determine how well existing treatments for COVID-19 work. Based on the changed genetic make-up of omicron, some treatments are likely to remain effective while others may be less effective.

Click here to learn more about the best tools to fight omicron and more general information from the CDC.

1. Make sure all children are up to date on the routine childhood vaccinations needed for school entry. Access to medical offices, fear of leaving home and of waiting room exposures, and closed schedules of weary medical providers taking long-awaited vacations could result in a drop in vaccination rates against measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, and the bacteria causing meningitis. A slight drop in vaccine coverage for measles, pertussis, and mumps translates quickly to a loss of herd immunity and outbreaks of serious, vaccine-preventable illnesses.

2. Revisit the latest masking decisions in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advocate for masking in schools, especially in areas with moderate to high transmission of COVID-19. Follow guidance from your local health department which will be in line with the current state of the pandemic and regional community health recommendations.  We have learned during the pandemic that most children, 2 years of age and older, can wear a mask.

3. Encourage COVID-19 vaccination of all eligible children and adults. COVID-19 efficiently spreads from adults and teenagers to younger children, not often the reverse. The key to keeping schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic is getting unimmunized parents and all eligible family members vaccinated.

4. Arrange for mobile COVID-19 vaccination units to be present during orientation and events such as 'meet–the-teacher' nights. Gains in U.S. vaccine acceptance are likely to come amidst the group of people who don’t have a solid reason to avoid vaccination. Surveys reveal that most of these people were hoping that the pandemic was wrapping up and that they would not have to take a risk by taking an “untested” vaccine. They are reasonable people who describe themselves as cautious, slow adopters of things that are new. Most are not necessarily opposed to vaccination philosophically. They were just hoping to wait out the pandemic while relying on social distancing, masking, and herd immunity to keep them from having to getting a vaccine. With the loosening of restrictions and the surge in cases due to the Delta variant, many are now ready to stop holding out.

5. Continue to utilize strategies promoting social distancing in the classroom (by using partitions, separating desks, and cohorting of student groups), during passing periods (by keeping them short to discourage standing around in small groups and conversing), and during meal times (by moving meals outside in the fresh air, limiting line length for meal service, and by observing social distancing).

6. Re-enforce good hand-hygiene practices and cleaning of shared workstation areas with demonstrations that highlight effective hand hygiene and disinfection techniques.

7. Quarantine unvaccinated children and school staff members exposed to COVID-19 per CDC guidance. Vaccinated exposed persons may still get sick with COVID-19 and could be contagious, though their risk of hospitalization and severe disease is extremely low. Quarantine exposed, vaccinated persons if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 until testing results are available.

8. Provide interactive and technologically sound, distance-learning alternatives for immunocompromised students who should not be in the classroom during the pandemic.

9. Encourage precautions for bus riders like masking and opening windows to promote adequate ventilation and reduce the transmission of COVID-19 while traveling to and from school.

10. Above all, send recurring reminders to parents not to send ill children to daycare and to school. Many parents are returning to the workplace for the first time in over a year. They may be experiencing pressures to be physically present, rather than staying home with an ill child. Memories are short when pressures are high. However, we are still in the midst of a global COVID-19 pandemic that has already claimed the lives of more than 600,000 people in the U.S.

Dr. Terk routinely addresses questions and concerns about the vaccination, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for everyone ages 12 and older. He wants parents to understand the vaccine is safe and effective against the virus that causes COVID-19. 

“It’s an exciting time to be able to provide protection against the pandemic virus for the younger population,” said Dr. Terk, who treats patients at Cook Children’s Pediatrics at Keller Parkway. “I’m encouraging my families to get that done as soon as possible.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination for children as young as 12 years old, who receive the same dosage as adults -- in two shots, three weeks apart. Potential side effects include pain at the site of the injection, tiredness and headache.

Cook Children’s has teamed up with Texas Health Community Clinics to provide the Pfizer vaccines at clinic locations throughout the North Texas region. Appointments may be made but aren’t necessary. There is no cost.

Dr. Terk, who is also the chair of the Texas Public Health Coalition, pointed out that some families in 2020 delayed their children’s scheduled checkups. The summer break from school provides a good opportunity to receive not only the COVID-19 vaccine but any overdue vaccinations, such as Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis). The COVID-19 vaccination may be given along with other vaccines that adolescents need.

“We have a backlog of people who didn’t come to the doctor because of the initial concerns about safety at the beginning part of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so we’re still in the process of catching people up,” he said. “We want to try to leverage this time to get these things done.”

Some children who are infected with the coronavirus show symptoms at all. Others can experience fever, cough, nausea, sore throat and body aches. While children generally do not get as sick from COVID-19 as adults, in rare cases some kids become severely ill or even die. Recent news reports have also zeroed in on the Delta variant of COVID-19, which was first detected in India. According to the CDC, it now accounts for 6% of all infections in the United States. The Delta variant is highly transmissible and may be associated with more severe disease.

At Cook Children's, the seven-day rolling average of COVID-positive tests has fallen from 170 daily in January to fewer than 20 per day, or 1%. Dr. Terk called the trend good news across the United States but subject to new variants that seem to spread easier and cause more severe symptoms in younger people.

In a report released June 4, the CDC noted a rise of adolescents hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 in April – lower than the peak in January, but higher than in March. Risks in these severe cases include the need for intensive care admission and mechanical ventilation. “Highly effective COVID-19 vaccines are now available to adolescents as an additional evidence-based prevention measure,” according to the CDC.

Dr. Terk discusses the vaccine with all of his patients who are eligible for the immunization, and with the parents of every child who comes to his office. He urges teens and adults alike to get vaccinated soon. The responses vary.

“I just saw someone today who is a 12-year-old who affirmatively said on the very first day that the authorization came out ‘I want to get this done. I want to do my part.’ She was motivated,” he said. “Then you have other 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds who look at it as another shot to try to avoid just because it’s a shot.”

For those who respond with hesitancy or objection, Dr. Terk explains what he described as the appropriate development and testing of the vaccines. His message: Vaccine manufacturers proceeded rapidly but cautiously without cutting corners. Dr. Terk also shares the data on the vaccine’s track record of success against the spread of coronavirus and severe cases of COVID-19.

These conversations take place at the pediatrician’s office because Dr. Terk wants families to make informed decisions. A parent’s choice to receive the COVID-19 vaccination helps protect young children in the home, he tells them. Sometimes, he said, a reluctant or undecided candidate for the vaccine just needs a little nudge.

“Most people who have not gotten the vaccination and don’t intend to are not militantly anti-vaccine people. They simply have real concerns and questions,” Dr. Terk said.

More than 170 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC. In rare instances, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System has received reports of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) particularly in adolescents and young adults. But to Dr. Terk and other promoters, the overall benefit from the vaccine far outweighs the risks, which he called “infinitesimal.”

Plans are underway to pilot a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at two Cook Children's pediatrician offices later this month. Dr. Terk encourages his teenage and 12-year-old patients to access the vaccine at pharmacies, clinics or wherever it’s most convenient.

“We are seeing wonderful rates of protection,” Dr. Terk said. “We now are millions of doses down the road and seeing a very, very good safety record.”