How will Omikron affect the pandemic? Dr. Grzesiowski about what could happen

– The Omikron variant appeared at the peak of the Delta wave. This proves that he has an advantage over him – emphasized the immunologist Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski in an interview with Medonet. And although there is no evidence that it is more dangerous and we know little about Omicron, it is possible that this mutation may “change something” in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Grzesiowski indicates what could potentially happen.

1. We still know very little about the Omicron. Research is ongoing. However, there are questions, among others whether and to what extent the vaccines will be effective, whether this variant will be more or less dangerous than the Delta mutation
2. Dr. Grzesiowski draws attention to the fact that Omikron appeared “at the peak of the Delta wave”. – It proves he has an advantage over her. The specialist emphasizes that there are currently insufficient data to consider Omikron as more dangerous
3. What impact may Omikron have on the further course of the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr. Grzesiowski points to several important issues
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Omicron more or less dangerous than Delta? Still many question marks

The omicron is spreading around the world, causing widespread concern. We still know little about him. It is certain, however, that this variant developed a record number of mutations (hence it is often referred to as a super variant). There are 50 of them, including 32 located on genes responsible for the production of the spike protein – the same protein that is targeted by vaccines. This, in turn, raises the question of how effective the current immunity will be. It is also known that among the mutations there are also those known from the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. This again makes us suspect that Omicron will spread rapidly. This is evidenced by the fact that it quickly appeared in various regions of the world (it was discovered on November 11, according to information from December 4, its presence was confirmed by 38 countries).

1. Scientists concerned. They discovered an “invisible” version of the Omicron

Research on Omikron is ongoing, but we still have many question marks related to it and, consequently, various opinions and forecasts. – Based on what we know so far about the new variant, there is a significant chance that Omikron will cause the fifth wave of infections in Israel – said prof. Eran Segal from the Weizmann Science Institute in Tel Aviv.

1. “Calm before the storm”. Scientists from Israel about Omicron

Prof. Dror Mevorach of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. – On the one hand, it is a threat, on the other, it may be a harmless option, as we would like. One that, despite easy transmission, causes only slight symptoms, he commented. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke in a similar vein: “It is almost certain that Omikron is not more dangerous than Delta,” said the US president’s chief medical advisor. – But to be sure, you have to wait for the test results.

“Omikron has the potential to shift to a younger age group”

Therefore, the question of how Omikron will affect the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for almost two years, remains open. The more so because – as Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski noted in a recent interview with Medonet, this variant appeared “at the peak of the Delta wave”. – This is very important and proves that it has an advantage over it, although there is not enough data yet to consider it more dangerous – emphasizes Dr. Grzesiowski. But how can the knowledge we already have and the signals from South Africa about Omicron translate into further developments?

– The analyzes carried out in Africa show that it looks more infectious (about 10-20 percent more than Delta). It also seems to infect younger people more readily (mostly young people suffer from this disease) – says Dr. Grzesiowski. ‘So it is likely that this pathogen has the potential to shift to a younger age group (this has already started to be seen in the case of Delta). In fact, some of the Omicron mutations are the same as in the Delta, including those responsible for greater infectivity, explains the specialist.

The immunologist also draws attention to the fact that no increases in the number of deaths are observed in the group of young people infected with Omikron. – At the moment, however, we do not know how the elderly will develop the disease. We also do not know if and to what extent the pathogen is resistant to vaccines – he reminds. – In South Africa the percentage of vaccinated people is very low – only 20-30 percent. In fact, this society is sick as if it were unvaccinated. There are also signals from South Africa that people get sick for the second time, so convalescents are not protected against Omicron.

«The number of infections will keep growing, it will just get worse»

– Taking all this into account, it can be concluded that the number of infections will increase, that it will just be worse – assesses Paweł Grzesiowski. – If the virus has a greater ability to infect, i.e. a lower dose is enough to cause disease, it is most often also more virulent for unvaccinated people – it leads to more frequent hospitalizations, also in younger people. Delta has already clearly shown it to us. See how many kids we have in hospitals. Earlier – until September – they were admitted to the wards very rarely due to COVID-19, the most common reason for hospitalization was PIMS. Currently 11-13-year-olds are under a respirator – says the doctor.

Returning to Omikron, Dr. Grzesiowski reminds that this variant breeds in a much younger society (in South Africa the average age is about 26 years) and at a typically summer temperature. – This means that we are dealing with a variant with a great potential for globalization. It is suspected that in the past, the SARS-CoV-2 virus often jumped from human to some animal species, mutated and thus changed again to humans – says the immunologist. – Although this is only a hypothesis for now, it shows that Omikron has a chance to be a variant that can “change something” in the course of a pandemic, including triggering another wave – he forecasts.

You may be interested in:

1. New research: Omicron spreads rapidly but may not be as virulent as expected
2. Unvaccinated and young children are filling South African hospitals. The Omikron variant is to blame
3. CNN journalist from Africa: suddenly I heard that because of the Omikron variant I was not going anywhere

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