Early introduction and rise of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant in highly vaccinated university populations.
Brittany A PetrosJacquelyn TurcinovicNicole L WelchLaura F WhiteEric D KolaczykMatthew R BauerMichael ClearySabrina T DobbinsLynn Doucette-StammMitch GoreParvathy NairTien G NguyenScott RoseBradford P TaylorDaniel TsangErik WendlandtMichele HopeJudy T PlattKaren R JacobsonTara BoutonSeyho YuneJared R AuclairLena LandaverdeCatherine M KlapperichDavidson H HamerWilliam P HanageBronwyn L MacInnisPardis C SabetiJohn H ConnorMichael SpringerPublished in: Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (2022)
We document the rapid takeover of the Omicron variant at IHEs, reaching near-fixation within the span of 9.5-12.5 days despite lower viral loads, on average, than the previously dominant Delta variant. These findings highlight the transmissibility of Omicron, its propensity to rapidly dominate small populations, and the ability of robust asymptomatic surveillance programs to offer early insights into the dynamics of pathogen arrival and spread.