ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — On Thursday, Colorado's top health officials confirmed the state'sfirst case of the omicron variant in an Arapahoe County woman who recently traveled to the southern part of Africa.
The woman had been vaccinated but had not yet received her booster shot. Gov. Jared Polis said she is currently in quarantine at home.
Those that live and work in Arapahoe County had different reactions to the news.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, great. We don't have that variant here yet,' and then I guess we do'" said Vicki Lindoerfer.
Lindoerfer, who's in her 70s, said the news of omicron's arrival in Colorado meant more months for her to spend avoiding crowds and busy establishments.
"At my age, it's scary," she said.
Younger Coloradans receiving the news had some uncertainty.
"Going into our college years, it seems like it's going to be another quarantine, I guess," said Tessa Boettcher.
"I just don't know a whole lot about the severity of the variant," said Peter Boxley.
During a Thursday press briefing, state health officials said they don't know a lot yet either. Polis said it should take a couple of weeks for the state to know how vaccines work against omicron.
"We hope that that it can be confirmed in the next few weeks, but at this point, it appears so far that the vaccine can protect against the most severe of health outcomes just as it does for the other variants," Polis said.
