The highly mutated COVID-19 variant was named omicron by public health authorities who say it’s likely omicron had been circulating for some time before it was identified in South Africa Nov. 25. Scientists are scrambling to learn about omicron’s transmissibility, severity and ability to evade vaccines. AJC journalists are following the variant with a focus on what it means in Georgia.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com