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Understanding and tracking the omicron variant to ensure public health safety

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15min 59sec
Runner Wearing Mask In LoDo
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
A runner wearing a mask crosses 15th Street at Larimer Square Friday afternoon. April 3, 2020. Gov. Jared Polis asked Coloradans earlier in the day to adopt face masks whenever they leave their home for essential functions allowed under the state’s ‘stay-at-home’ order.

Doctors say it’s only a matter of time before the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus makes its way to the United States. It was first discovered last week in South Africa, and already there are two cases detected in Canada. We want to get some grounding to the concerns people have with omicron and what this means for Colorado. Dr. Anuj Mehta is a pulmonologist who works with Denver Health. He’s also helped advise the state of Colorado on vaccine allocation and crisis care standards for patients during the pandemic.