Omicron becoming dominant variant

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) - Utah doctors believe the Omicron COVID-19 variant will become the dominant strain of the virus by early next year.

An infectious disease specialist at Intermountain Healthcare says the variant is more efficient at causing infections than previous strains.

The state only found seven confirmed cases of Omicron so far, the first case was reported by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.

Officials from the Utah Department of Health say the special testing used to diagnose the variant makes it likely there are more cases present in the state, than are reported.

According to the CDC, 73% of positive cases nationwide are part of the Omicron strain while 27% are of the Delta variant.

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