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The Omikron variant triggered an exceptionally quick reaction from the World Health Organization and individual countries. Flights are suspended, borders are sealed, and testing of passengers at airports is increasing. The media write about it as “probably the worst COVID-19 variant identified so far”, but epidemiologists say there is no reason to panic. “There are good and bad sides to detecting this virus,” writes the American epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina.
- A new variant of the coronavirus was detected several days ago in southern Africa
- The World Health Organization has reacted extremely quickly compared to previous options. On Friday, she named it Omikron, and it also made it to the list of “worrying variants”
- It’s too early to say how dangerous Omicron is, writes Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and biostatistician from the United States
- The fact that he was caught so quickly is very good news – he emphasizes
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Omikron variant – where were the beginnings?
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and biostatistician, focused on the recently discovered variant of the coronavirus. She shared her thoughts on the Substack platform. He writes that it is not yet known whether we are dealing with a particularly dangerous variant, there are both bad and good aspects of recent events.
The Omikron variant was first discovered on November 11 in Botswana. Three days later, he was identified in South Africa, followed by two cases in Hong Kong. Subsequently, Israel and Belgium reported the detection in their area.
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The Belgian case of Belgium involved a young, unvaccinated woman who developed flu-like symptoms 11 days after traveling to Egypt via Turkey. She wasn’t in South Africa. This means that the virus is circulating in many communities.
In turn, both people from Hong Kong were vaccinated, one of them previously traveled through South Africa and then infected the other.
Omikron variant – bad news
The Omikron variant (B.1.1.529) has as many as 32 mutations in the spike protein alone. As Jetelina writes, it is “an incredible number of changes”. For comparison, Delta had 9 changes in its spiny protein. For simplicity, the spike protein allows the virus to enter human cells and multiply.
It is known that B.1.1.529 is not a “Delta plus” variant. Its “ancestral” line is long, and Delta’s ancestors are absent.
The epidemiologist writes that changes in the spike protein need to be monitored and mutations studied that can cause three things: the virus will be more transmissive, more resistant to vaccines, and it will make the disease more severe. B.1.1.529 has the potential to meet all three elements.
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Where do these assumptions come from? Many of these mutations can be found in “variant of concern” (VOC) like Delta, Alpha and Gamma.
Jetelina presents an illustration developed by Dr. Jeffrey Barrett showing all Omicron mutations.
The red ones are the most dangerous, they are also seen in the most dangerous VOC variants. In purple, new mutations that may be dangerous are marked, blue are also previously unseen mutations, and green are “safe” mutations present in all variants from the beginning of 2020.
The epidemiologist writes that some time will pass before we know what the new mutations mean. And he points out that the greater number of mutations does not necessarily mean greater danger.
Jetelina writes that during the PCR testing of two Hong Kong people the viral load was very high, which could mean that Omikron is very contagious. This is the second bad news.
Omikron variant – good news
Katelyn Jetelina points out that there is also good news in the current situation.
First, Omikron can be detected by a PCR test, and it is not always so. Typically, the swab must go to a special laboratory to sequence the genome to know which variant caused the infection. So it appears that B.1.1.529 “sends a stronger signal”, like Alpha, in a PCR reaction.
Second, “we caught this virus extremely early”. And early detection means that the control system is working smoothly. The epidemiologist praises the South African medical services for the speed of reaction and efficient communication.
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Third, “if we need another vaccine, we can do it really fast”, because mRNA vaccines are really easy to change thanks to new biotechnology. In her opinion, the entire process should take a maximum of 6 weeks.
Finally, Jetelina emphasizes that on an individual level, in the face of the Omikron variant, everyone can do what they usually do: vaccinate yourself, take care of immunity, ventilate rooms, wear a mask and isolate yourself when you suspect or find an infection.
Variant Omikron — pierwsza fotografia
In the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital in Rome on Saturday, a new variant – the Omikron – was photographed for the first time.
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The mutant variant of the virus was photographed by a team of scientists led by Professor Carlo Federico Perno in collaboration with Professor Claudia Alteri from the University of Milan. One photo shows the protein spike structure of the virus in the Omikron variant and the other in the Delta, which compares with the spike of the first version of SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers explained that the significant differences in the image of the virus do not automatically mean that the variant is more dangerous, but that it has adapted even more to the human body.
Omikron variant – where did it appear?
So far, there are no signals that the Omikron variant has appeared in Poland. The GISAID virus sequence database currently has 123 cases of which 99 from South Africa, 17 from Botswana, 2 from Hong Kong and Australia, and one each from Belgium, Italy, and Israel.
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In turn, the health ministries of individual countries reported two cases of this variant in Germany, two in the United Kingdom, several in the Netherlands and one in the Czech Republic. It is probably also present in the United States and Denmark.
Many countries have suspended or limited air connections from South African countries, and there are also restrictions on land borders.
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
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