What is the Omicron variant?

Peter McGinn was quarantined at home when the White House announced that a second confirmed case of the Omicron variant had been detected in the United States.

Details reveal how a 30-year-old man traveled from Minnesota to New York City to attend Anime NYC 2021, a three-day event celebrating all of anime and comics.

White House spokesman Jen Psaki also said the individual was completely vaccinated in a room full of White House journalists. What she didn’t reveal was the man’s name.

That was when Peter McGinn set foot.

“It was very surreal. I didn’t think I would hear the White House talking specifically about me, even if I didn’t name me. It was just a whirlwind. A celebrity on Twitter was me. I saw him talking about. I wanted it. I turned to that person, “McGin told Prime Time.

“I wanted to reduce some of the false information I saw online. I wanted to express my thoughts about having Omicron.”

McGin flew from Minnesota to New York for an anime conference back in mid-November. The organizers, held at the Javits Center from November 18th to 20th, had a strict policy that all participants should present proof of vaccination and wear face masks at the venue.

“The ceiling was really high. I felt safe. 99.9% of people follow the guidelines set in terms of masking and doing their best to social distance as much as possible,” McGin said.

After spending the weekend in Manhattan with a friend, he returned to Minnesota, where he learned that one member of his party was positive on the test. In close contact, he decided to test himself, even though he felt good.

“Surprisingly, I tested positive, and a few days later I received a follow-up call from the Minnesota Health Director that I had the mutant. I was in complete shock.”

McGin doesn’t know how he picked up the virus because all his parties were completely vaccinated and he had never taken off his mask in a taxi or at an anime convention during the flight.

However, he wasn’t required to wear masks elsewhere in Manhattan over the weekend, so he’s not sure he contracted the variant during the cartoon conference.

After being tested positive, McGin spent 10 days at home at a quarantine station in Minnesota. The symptoms were mild there.

“I had symptoms for only one day. I had a slight fatigue. I had a runny nose and a little cough, so it wasn’t too bad. The next day, I was still absent from work, so 14 I slept for hours. When I woke up, I felt 100%, almost 2 weeks 100%, “he said.

He attributed his mild illness to a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April and a moderna booster in early November. Now that the quarantine is over, McGin has returned to work and has already resumed the movement. He wants to use his story as a resource for others who are afraid of what the Omicron variant can do.

In London, about 4,000 miles away, Carleen MacDermid tested positive for the same variant. This shows how fast and how much Omicron spread in a few weeks.

She is currently on the eighth day of a 10-day quarantine period.

Ms MacDermid received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and a recent booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

However, shortly after the booster shot in late November, she began to feel sick.

“It wasn’t until then [30 November] I really started to feel sick. It was hot and I felt a little nauseous. I was very sick for about a day and a half to two days. “

MacDermid also has a fundamental condition.

“I have very severe arthritis, which extends to my entire body, so I was absolutely in great pain.”

But in a short period of time she felt much better.

“I got significantly better after 36-40 hours, things got easier, and every day, again, significantly easier. I didn’t have a fever for days.”

When the pandemic began, Ms. MacDermid offered to participate in vaccine trials at Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospitals in London.

Since then, she has been involved with the hospital’s research team, this time offering to provide samples when tested positive. They told her that she was likely to have the Omicron variant, and a few days later the NHS confirmed this.

She is currently isolated on the third floor of a property she shares with her flatmate, who has been negatively tested so far. MacDermid is trapped in the bedroom. For rest, she opens a window on the streets of Hernhill, the southern district of London where she is based.

“I’m not doing anything in the common area of ​​my house. There’s a quiet little street outside. Around the corner, during the day they started selling Christmas trees,” she said. rice field.

“I have to admit that they feel a little ridiculed of me to start the celebration without me, but I have to remember that it’s only 10 days. -I can definitely deal with it. “

So how did she become one of the first confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK?

“I would appreciate your reply. I work at school, so there are a lot of people, but my job is a small office, so I don’t get in touch with a lot of people.”

Ms. McDermid points out that she regularly uses public transport in London and does not wear a mask as a potential source of infection.

“I take a bus for about 40 minutes one way at peak times, so there is a very good chance there. And one day 80% of us wear masks and one day only I wear masks. . “

With the quarantine scheduled to end this Saturday, Ms. MacDermid feels that her symptoms are almost gone overall.

She is looking forward to Christmas now. She needs to set everything up after three vaccinations and the potential immunity gained after recovery from Omicron is complete.