Texas' Harris County on Monday reported its first death related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, a man who was unvaccinated, the county health department said. It is believed to be the first known recorded Omicron death in the United States, ABC said in its report. The victim was a man in his 50s, who was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions, the report said. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus accounts for 73% of US coronavirus infections based on sequencing data for the week ended Dec. 18, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.
County judge Lina Hidalgo tweeted that the man was the first local fatality from the variant. The highly mutated coronavirus strain has been detected across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a model that it updates weekly. The delta variant, which had been the dominant form of the virus in the US last week, has now receded to roughly 27% of sequenced cases.The US is urging those who are eligible to get vaccinated and to seek out booster shots to ward off Omicron. On Monday, Moderna Inc. said a third dose of their vaccine increased antibody levels against the variant, and Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have said lab studies show that a third dose of their vaccine also helps neutralize Omicron. Other prevention measures such as masking indoors and at-home testing can also help curb transmission of the virus, CDC said.