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The emergence of new variants of coronavirus inevitably makes us more vigilant. Mutations from the Covid 19 virus pose a major threat. But what is now becoming known about the Omicron variant combines good and bad news in an interesting way. Some experts even see the light at the end of the tunnel, should Omikron be the dominant version of the coronavirus that caused the pandemic.
Highly contagious, but perhaps with only mild symptoms
Tedros Adhanom, head of the World Health Organization, spoke Dec. 8 about preliminary data on Omicron. He pointed to two features of the new variant: its very high contagiousness (greater than delta) and mild symptoms.
More hospitalizations and more deaths
Still, WHO warns that the emergence of the Omicron variant and its very rapid rise may lead to more and more hospitalizations and deaths worldwide. From a purely statistical point of view, with more infections there are also more severe cases, especially in poor countries where vaccination rates are still very low.
New infection: very possible
The new variant has not yet been studied in depth, but research is ongoing and Omicron is believed to be able to infect both recovered and vaccinated people.
But vaccines are still useful
Vaccines still provide protection, however; in fact, they are the only effective protection we know of. They prevent serious infections. BioNTech even claims that with three doses of its vaccine, you have complete protection against Omicron.
If Omicron displaces the Delta variant, the pandemic could be over.
If it is confirmed that the disease course with Omicron is mild, and considering that it could displace the Delta variant as the dominant variant given its very rapid spread, that would mean something good. The disease course of Covid-19 would perhaps be severe, but not fatal.
Logical viral evolution
Scientists have pointed out from the beginning that the usual evolution of viruses is toward less lethality. Indeed, it is an improvement when a virus does not kill its “host.”
Covid-19 as a cold
The best scientific scenario envisions a future in which Covid-19 resembles a cold or flu. And that we can live with the coronavirus without having to go to the emergency room.
News from South Africa
South African experts who have studied Omicron (where this variant was discovered) say it is not a dangerous variant. Dr. Angelique Coetzee, president of the South African Medical Association, told the BBC that the symptoms observed are generally “very mild.”
But we shouldn’t relax precautions
The WHO cautions, however, saying it will take weeks to do precise studies and get extensive data collection to accurately determine the effects of Omicron. And there’s another piece of bad news that may (or may not) be confirmed.
Are children affected?
Will this new variant infect children and cause them to be hospitalized? Originally, there was talk of severe cases in children in South Africa. Not much more is known.
Childhood vaccination
Some countries (e.g., the United States and Spain) have already implemented childhood vaccination programs. This is to protect against a possible more aggressive variant, but mainly to make it more difficult to transmit the virus.
Omicron as a great unknown
Each new variant is a great unknown and a potential danger. That’s why the WHO is calling for mass vaccination worldwide to prevent the virus from mutating further.
Vaccinate poor countries
Poor countries must get vaccinations to immunize their populations. Otherwise, it may be like Omicron, whose origin (although there are various hypotheses) could be a possible mutation in the organism of an HIV-infected person. The more a virus spreads, the greater the possibility that it will become entrenched.
The end of the pandemic
One can only hope that the pandemic will come to an end one way or another. Vaccination is indeed a good start. There are fewer deaths. For the time being, however, we will have to live with Covid-19, and the mask is an effective tool indoors or in crowds.
Continue to watch what Omicron has in store for us
Whatever happens with Omikron, it is clear that science is the only answer to the pandemic. Vaccines work, and there is already a treatment for severe covid that stops deaths. Only knowledge can save us.
- source: thedailydigest.com/picture:pixabay.com
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