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The first two cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant in Ohio were confirmed by the Ohio State University laboratory, according to a release from the Ohio Department of Health on Saturday.
Both cases were in adult men in central Ohio, and both tested positive on a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, test Tuesday. Both men were vaccinated but had not received boosters and were reported to have mild symptoms and were not hospitalized as of Saturday afternoon. Neither recently had traveled internationally.
More specific information regarding the age and location of the two is not being released in order to protect patient privacy, according to the ODH, which is in the process of performing contact tracing.
The Ohio State laboratory is sequencing all positive PCR tests. During the past three weeks, the lab has sequenced about 1,000 positive tests, with the two Omicron cases reflecting about 0.2 percent of those and the delta variant comprising the rest.
"While the arrival of Omicron in Ohio is noteworthy, we must not lose sight of the fact that the delta variant continues to drive cases and hospitalizations very high," ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement. "The hospitalizations in this delta surge are largely being driven by unvaccinated Ohioans. Severe illness with COVID-19 is largely preventable thanks to vaccines."
The ODH updates information on the proportion of variants in Ohio each Monday on the COVID-19 Variants in Ohio dashboard. Data on this dashboard lags by two weeks, and when updated this Monday, the most recent two-week period reflected will be for the period ending Nov. 27 and will not include the two omicron cases referenced above.