The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA—The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently notified Walla Walla County Department of Community Health (DCH) that the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) has been identified in COVID-19 specimens collected from the county.

First identified in South Africa, there is much unknown about the Omicron variant.

“It appears the Omicron variant will likely spread more easily than the original COVID-19 virus,” said Public Health Officer Daniel Kaminsky. “While the severity of symptoms does not seem to be as dramatic as previous variants, due to the sheer number of c...