Omicron strain

In February and March, new anti-records for coronavirus infection were recorded in Russia every day. The reason for this was a new strain of omicron.

For the vaccinated, it proceeds like a normal ARVI, and for the unvaccinated, hospitalization is possible. At the first sign, you should not immediately seek help from a doctor. The outpatient department and hospitals are overcrowded and cannot cope with the load.

When to see a doctor:

• body temperature above 38 for 3-4 days, which is briefly brought down by paracetamol;
• shortness of breath occurs at rest or with little physical exertion;
• saturation below 94% during the day.

Consider in the article the main differences between the new strain and the previous ones, recall its symptoms, preventive measures and treatment.

What is omicron

Omicron is one of the mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (coronavirus). It was first detected in South Africa and Botswana in November 2021. The main difference between omicron and alpha, beta and gamma mutation variants is:

• high ability to infection (contagiousness);
• a high probability of becoming infected in the presence of antibodies both after the disease and after vaccination;
• high incidence among children and adolescents (possibly due to the low level of vaccination in children and adolescents under 18 years of age).

There are various variations or so-called omicron sublines.

• BA.1, which currently already has its own mutations. For example, BA.1.1. Its feature is infection even with existing antibodies. Therefore, to protect against this virus, it is necessary to have a high level of antibodies.
• BA.2 was discovered on 4 January. It also has its own distinctive features:

1. is actively spreading in developed countries with a high level of herd immunity;
2. more infected (compared to BA.1);
3. high risk of infection by contact;
4. high mortality in the absence of vaccination.

• In April 2022, new variations were identified – these are VA.4 and VA.5. In South Africa, these mutations currently cause 66% of all infections. It has already been proven that BA.4 and BA.5 are very “contagious” and often cause complications.

Symptoms and signs of omicron

British scientists conducted a large-scale study to identify the main symptoms of omicron. For the study, clinical signs were analyzed in 182 patients with omicron and 000 patients with delta¹.

As a result, scientists came to the following conclusions:

1. 89,8% of patients with omicron had symptoms of the disease. With delta, this figure was 85,5%;
2. the symptoms of delta and omicron are almost identical, but there are 2 differences. With omicron, sore throat is much more common, but loss of smell is, on the contrary, much less common (only 13% of cases)².

Studies were also conducted in Washington (Washington State Department of Health). Most of their sample included unvaccinated².

The British project ZOE COVID Study also published data on the clinical picture³, in their sample, 83% of patients were vaccinated⁴. According to their statistics, patients with omicron most often complain of a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, as well as sore throat and perspiration.

– If now the vast majority of the sick are vaccinated, who get sick easily, then in many respects this is precisely what causes their “mild” symptoms – a few days of a runny nose and a mild course of the disease. And this affects the statistics and confuses observers, says genetic scientist Dmitry Pruss, who works at a research institute in Salt Lake City (USA).

So, what are the most common symptoms of omicron:

• an increase in body temperature (above 37,5 degrees, more common in unvaccinated);
• cough dry or with a small amount of clear sputum (typical for unvaccinated);
• shortness of breath (in 30% of cases);
• fatigue;
• congestion in the chest;
• loss of smell (15-20% of cases);
• sore or sore throat;
• nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing (typical for vaccinated).

Don’t try to diagnose yourself based on symptoms alone. Any manifestation of SARS should be considered as a potential covid.

Omicron diagnostics

Diagnosis of coronavirus infection is divided into general and etiological.

General laboratory diagnosis is more required for persons with moderate, severe and extremely severe disease and includes:

• general blood analysis;
• blood chemistry;
• coagulogram;
• hormonal research.

To confirm the diagnosis, etiological laboratory diagnostics is mandatory.

At present, no tests have been developed that accurately determine the strain of the coronovirus. However, all laboratory methods make it possible to detect the very fact of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and make a diagnosis of “new coronavirus infection”.

The most popular methods for diagnosing the Omicron strain are:

• Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA (performed in specialized laboratories);
• Detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens (used in rapid tests for coronavirus);
• Detection of immunoglobulins class A, M, G SARS-CoV-2.

Omicron treatment

Medicines

Since coronavirus is a viral infection and in most cases (in the absence of serious concomitant diseases) it proceeds easily, the main thing is to help the body fight on its own.

• Antipyretics – paracetamol. Take only at temperatures above 38 degrees and no more than 3 grams per day. It is important to remember that powders (Teraflu, Fervex, etc.) also contain paracetamol in their composition. If the temperature is tolerated relatively easily, then you can not resort to taking the drug.

• With a runny nose, it is necessary to rinse the nose with saline solutions. The use of vasoconstrictor drugs is not recommended, as they adversely affect the nasal mucosa and are addictive.
• For pain in grief – sprays, lozenges, gargles. It is possible both with traditional medicine and pharmaceutical preparations (Grammidin, Geksoral, Lizobakt and others).

• When coughing dry or with a small amount of clear sputum – chest collection, ACC (600 mg per day).

But antiviral agents will not have a significant effect. For example, Arbidol, Acyclovir, Ingavirin do not “cut off” a viral infection, but only reduce its duration. With a mild course of coronavirus, they do not need to be used.

Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs (umifenovir, favipiravir) in the hospital are used for moderate severity of the disease and are recommended for severe clinical manifestations. The greatest effect is manifested if you start taking it 1-3 days from the onset of symptoms. It is possible to use nose drops with Interferon-alpha 2-b (Grippferon).

Self-administration of antibiotics, glucocorticosteroids (prednisolone, dexamethasone) and blood-thinning (Eliquis, Xarelto) drugs is unacceptable!

The vaccine

There is no vaccine that is 100% effective against omicron. However, there are drugs that will allow you to develop immunity and transfer the disease in a mild form:

• “Sputnik V” – used for both vaccination and revaccination. The interval between vaccinations should be 6 months.
• “Sputnik Light” – suitable for revaccination.

Prevention of omicron at home

In Hong Kong, in a hotel where quarantine was carried out, a person became infected from another guest⁵. At the same time, both of them were vaccinated, followed the rules of isolation, did not leave their rooms and did not contact each other. How did the infection happen?

To answer this question, I had to conduct a whole epidemiological investigation.⁶. It turned out that the cause of the infection was the peculiarity of the ventilation of the hotel. At the same time, the hotel was listed as a quarantine hotel for a long time and there were no similar incidents with the dominance of other strains. The high contagiousness (infectiousness) of omicron became evident.

So how did the omicron spread throughout the inn?

• Infected air entered the corridor when the door was opened.
• Infected air entered the room even with the door slightly open.
• Contamination of food and the environment (walls, ceiling) through contact with contaminated air in the corridor.

Due to such an active spread of omicron, the neglect of personal protective equipment is unacceptable. It is important to use a respirator or mask when leaving the apartment on the landing, when opening the door to meet the courier, taking out the garbage. It is necessary to minimize contacts with the outside world. At least for the duration of the omicron wave.

Popular questions and answers

With expert Tatyana Pomerantseva we discussed what this new strain is, how it differs from the rest, how to protect yourself from it, and what vaccines are available.

Sources:

1. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England. 14 January 2022 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1050236/technical-briefing-34-14-january-2022.pdf
2. SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State ,Washington State Department of Health, January 26, 2022
3. What are the symptoms of Omicron? https://joinzoe.com/learn/omicron-symptoms
4. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
5. New Concerning Variant: B.1.1.529 https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/new-concerning-variant-b11529
6. Transmission of Omicron (B.1.1.529) — SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern in a designated quarantine hotel for travelers: a challenge of elimination

1. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England. 14 January 2022 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1050236/technical-briefing-34-14-january-2022.pdf
2. SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State ,Washington State Department of Health, January 26, 2022
3. What are the symptoms of Omicron? https://joinzoe.com/learn/omicron-symptoms
4. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
5. New Concerning Variant: B.1.1.529 https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/new-concerning-variant-b11529
6. Transmission of Omicron (B.1.1.529) — SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern in a designated quarantine hotel for travelers: a challenge of elimination strategy of COVID-19, December 23, 2021
7. Weekly report covid-19 for week 2 is published https://www.fhi.no/nyheter/2022/ukerapport-covid-19-for-uke-2/
8. Retention of Neutralizing response against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Sputnik V vaccinated individuals https://gamaleya.org/upload/archive/omicron.pdf
9. Omicron infection enhances neutralizing immunity against the Delta variant https://secureservercdn.net/50.62.198.70/1mx.c5c.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MEDRXIV-2021-268439v1-Sigal.pdf
10. https://iz.ru/1279636/2022-01-20/vrach-rekomendoval-delat-ekspress-test-na-omikron-do-piatogo-dnia-zabolevaniia
11. Reduced Risk of Hospitalisation Associated With Infection With SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Relative to Delta: A Danish Cohort Study, Posted: 14 Jan 2022
12. Severity of Omicron variant of concern and vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease: national cohort with nested test negative design study in Scotland https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/severity-of-omicron-variant-of-concern-and-vaccine-effectiveness-
13. Interim guidelines “Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a new coronavirus infection”, Version 14, 27.12.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX;