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It has arrived. Michigan's first known case of the highly contagious Omicron variant has been identified in Kent County, the state Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.
The case was entered into a state database six days earlier, but had to undergo lab sequencing for confirmation. Michigan joins 20 states in having identified omicron.
Booster shots are the best defense against the strain, health officials say. It's not yet clear if Omicron will be more contagious than Delta, but recent lab tests show it can bypass a two-shot regimen of the Pfizer vaccine more easily than past mutations.
Those who are unvaccinated "are risking hospitalization ... and even death," state health director Elizabeth Hertel says Friday morning in a media conference call, Kate Wells of Michigan Radio tweets.
