Highest number of infections in the world since the start of the pandemic. Guilty Omikron?

Two years have passed since the appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan – an event that turned the world and our daily lives upside down. And it still capsizes, because despite numerous restrictions, extensive diagnostics and a massive campaign of preventive vaccinations, COVID-19 does not let go. Yesterday, December 27, he made it clear in global statistics: the coronavirus was detected in over 1,44 million people worldwide, and this number is only for one day. Is Omikron, a new variant of the coronavirus, to blame for this infamous record?

1. On December 27, the highest daily number of infections was recorded on a global scale 
2. A year ago at this time, there were almost three times less infections, although most people were not vaccinated, and the virus strains of particular concern were “suddenly” two (Alpha and Beta)
3. The reasons for such disastrous statistics include: unpredictability of the virus and low vaccination rate in the population, which means that SARS-CoV-2 has nowhere to mutate
4. More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

Record of daily infections in the world

On December 27, 1 million 449 thousand jobs were confirmed worldwide. 269 ​​cases of coronavirus infection, and the average of the last seven days was 747 thousand. 545. This is a huge increase in the scale of each of the previous pandemic periods: double from the beginning of December, when there were around 700 infections. per day and up to three times compared to the situation from the previous year (400-500 thousand). So far, the largest number of infections (from before December this year) was recorded in January 2021 – 892 thousand. 845 cases of SARS-CoV-2 during the day.

However, comparing these numbers does not seem very sensible – today we are in a completely different place than a year ago. And that’s not good news for us. In December 2020, we fought with two mutations of the Wuhan virus (Alpha and Beta, the Gamma strain was only identified in January this year), immunization programs against COVID-19 in most countries were just starting (in Poland, the first vaccine was given on December 27), and Drugs to help treat the coronavirus infection were still being tested.

A year later, we have three new SARS-CoV-2 mutations, two of which (Delta and Omikron) turned out to be much more infectious than the previous ones, and almost half of the world’s population is vaccinated. Shouldn’t that be enough to make the COVID-19 pandemic go down in history?

1. See also: Chinese epidemiologist: Europe will grapple with pandemic by 2024.

The rest of the article under the video.

Why is COVID-19 not coming back?

The experts are unanimous on this point: it should, but it is not enough, for two reasons. First, the virus is extremely unpredictable. It not only keeps mutating, but also changes in a very aggressive way. This is clearly visible in the genetic material of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, Omikron, in which as many as 50 mutations were detected, 32 of which were located in the spike protein. 10 includes changes at the site of direct recognition of a human cell receptor by the coronavirus spike.

1. Also read: Virologist: Omicrons can be up to 500 times more contagious

The new strains are more infectious than the previous ones – Delta displaced the previous mutations within a dozen or so weeks, and Omikron took over the whole world in less than a month, despite heavy restrictions imposed on travelers by the governments of individual countries (including a ban on flights to some countries).

Second, the virus has nowhere to mutate, because half the people in the world have not received a single dose of the vaccine against COVID-19. It is not only the citizens of poorer countries, such as African countries, in which there is a lack of both vaccines and public health education. It is also a large group of anti-vaccine agents, present in many countries around the world, for whom contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is in many cases fatal. It is mainly unvaccinated people who become an ideal reservoir for the coronavirus, thanks to which the pathogen moves further, often in a changed, more aggressive form. As long as the vaccination rate does not increase, it is difficult to count on optimistic news in this regard.

1. See also: Vaccinations against COVID-19. How does Poland look compared to Europe?

What about the number of deaths from coronavirus infection?

In the face of these bleak statistics, it is only comforting that The global death record is not behind the rise in the number of infections per day. Yesterday there were 6 thousand of them. 526, while in January this year the number was almost twice as high (on January 20, over 19 people died due to COVID-18).

However, we still have to wait with enthusiasm – the holidays are behind us, during which there were no major restrictions in most countries of the world. Family meetings in a large group will certainly affect the New Year’s covid statistics, because it isand the beginning of 2022 will be the peak of the holiday infections and a marked increase in Omicron infections, according to experts.

1. Also read: Omikron “is crazy about the world”. What about Christmas?

The same is true of the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by infection with the new variant. Omikron was not detected until mid-November, it is only a month in Europe alone. As doctors and scientists point out, it is definitely too short to say whether it is actually less dangerous than the previous variants and whether the high transmissivity will translate into the number of admissions of new covid patients to hospitals and new deaths. These are usually delayed before infection is detected for several weeks.

1. When will the Omikron wave come in Poland? Scientists’ forecast

It is worth mentioning one more, not always obvious, issue: diagnosis towards COVID-19. Faced with the constant threat of having to introduce restrictions, governments in many countries have redoubled their efforts to diagnose the infection in as many people as possible. Tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 are performed today more than a year ago, which also affects the officially presented statistics.

What is worth knowing about Omikron?

1. Omikron is the fifth – after the variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta – SARS-CoV-2 strain, which, due to its structure and transmissivity, has aroused particular concerns among scientists (the World Health Organization qualified it as VoC, i.e. variant of concern, of concern).
2. The first case of Omikron infection was detected on November 11 in Botswana. In Europe, the variant first appeared in Belgium at the end of the same month.
3. According to data from the GISAID database, the strain has already been detected in 89 countries around the world. Most – in Great Britain (38 thousand 575 cases) and the USA (10 thousand 291).
4. Omikron arrived in Poland on December 16. Official figures say 25 cases of infection with the strain.
5. According to the latest reports by doctors from around the world, infection with Omikron causes a moderately mild course of the infection.
6. The most common symptoms of an infection caused by Omikron are: stuffy nose / runny nose, sore throat, scratchy throat, cough, headache, muscle pain, weakness / fatigue, slightly elevated body temperature.
7. It is worth remembering that these conclusions concern still a small group of patients, in addition relatively young (under 50) and largely vaccinated. Experts advise caution because Omicron, like any other strain, can be particularly dangerous for people from high-risk groups and those who are not vaccinated..
8. When it comes to the effectiveness of commercially available vaccines for the new coronavirus variant, the latest research shows that it is slightly lower than previous SARS-CoV-2 strains, but is definitely increasing after taking a booster dose. The best protection is provided by preparations based on mRNA technology.

The editorial board recommends:

1. Who is the most resistant to the Omikron variant?
2. Omicron can be as mild as a cold. But on a condition
3. In these countries, Omikron already dominates. What can we learn from them?
4. Omikron is not impressive? Poles do not want to vaccinate and are not afraid of the virus
5. Epidemiologist: Are you afraid of the Omicron? A surgical mask may not be enough

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