The World Health Organization named the variant after the Greek letter to help the public better keep track of the growing number of variants.

First identified in South Africa, omicron was detected in the United States in California on Dec. 1. Now 19 states have recorded cases of the variant.

According to USA Today, the omicron variant is more contagious than the delta variant, but it is also proving less deadly so far.

Dr. Warner Greene, director of the Center for HIV Cure Research at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, told USA Today, “This virus comes with both barrels loaded—high infectivity and potentially the ability for immune evasion. But maybe what it’s lacking is pathogenicity.”

More data on the omicron variant will not be available for weeks as scientists learn more about its transmission and long-term effects.

Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization told CNBC that “preliminary evidence from South Africa may suggest that omicron is milder than the delta strain, but it is too early to conclude that fact.  Patients in the country with a more mild course of the disease may not have gone through the full course of the infection yet.”

Experts say that the new variant is probably already in Indiana, but the delta variant remains the biggest threat to Hoosiers.

In a statement to Wish TV News 8, Dr. Sandeep Dube, an Indianapolis cardiologist, said, “The majority of patients—almost all of the patients that are currently hospitalized—are because of the delta variant. Omicron, again, we don’t know too much, and the current evidence shows it causes less severe sickness.”

The best thing Hoosiers can do to protect themselves against the variant and COVID-19 in general is to get vaccinated and then get the booster vaccine.

Just over half of Hoosiers are fully vaccinated, with the U.S. recently reaching60%. Demand has increased as the holiday’s approach and omicron reports spread.

On Dec. 1, Gov. Holcomb extended the COVID-19 emergency order that was enacted at the beginning of the pandemic. The order will extend to the end of the year.