Local public health experts say it’s too early to tell how omicron will shape pandemic in Orange County

A new COVID-19 variant, called Omicron, is causing some concern for scientists and researchers in Orange County …. “It is definitely not time to panic. And I think we all need to try to be patient to find out more information. That said … there are actions that we can take right now to ensure that we’re protected,” said UC Irvine public health expert and epidemiologist, Sanghyuk Shin. … “From a public health perspective, the sheer volume of travel is what’s going to drive this spread of Delta and the Omicron variant,” Shin said. “This year, looking at the data, the travel volume is pretty much at the pre-pandemic 2019 levels.”