Symptoms, vaccine theft and a brand new ‘offshoot’: what we all know now concerning the Omicron COVID variant

It has been two weeks since South Africa reported the Omicron Covid variant to the World Health Organization and it’s now spreading around the globe.

Over the previous fortnight, specialists have scrambled to realize extra understanding concerning the new closely mutated variant, and what sort of signs and illness it will probably trigger and whether or not it weakens already developed vaccines.

Day by day, extra data has emerged concerning the unfold, in addition to anecdotal proof and preliminary knowledge, permitting us to construct an even bigger image of its threat profile.

Here’s what we all know up to now:

As the World Health Organization designated Omicron “a type of concern” on 26 November – simply two days after South Africa reported it to the UN well being company – the hunt for virus circumstances elsewhere continued, elevating issues about between that the mutation linked to the omicron may make it extra satisfactory.

The US, UK and EU, amongst others, responded to the Omicron designation by briefly suspending flights from southern African nations, or introducing strict quarantines on anybody arriving from the area.

It is turning into more and more clear that Omicron is already spreading around the globe, and up to now two weeks there have been studies of group transmission, This indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to circulate more widely and for a longer period of time., than initially thought.

NS US CDC said on Tuesday That new model is now present in 50 nations and 19 US states.

The first known specimen of Omicron is dated 9 November and was present in South Africa. The WHO stated that the an infection within the nation had elevated quickly with the detection of model B.1.1.1.529, and the phenomenon is now being noticed elsewhere.

For instance, within the UK, it’s estimated that as much as 1,000 individuals a day are getting contaminated with the variant and specialists say it is just a matter of weeks moderately than months earlier than the delta variant is picked up, which is the dominant globally Is.

Imperial College professor Neil Ferguson, an influential epidemiologist amongst a gaggle of specialists advising the British authorities on Covid, instructed The Times newspaper on Tuesday that preliminary knowledge suggests the variety of omicron circumstances is growing each “three days or so”. lower than”. Needless to say, government officials are worried and preparing for a possible increase in Omicron cases as the winter period enters.

Given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Covid omicron variant, experts are looking closely at real-world data from South Africa, noting that it was one of the first countries to spot the variant.

Parts of South Africa have seen an increase in the number of hospitalizations associated with the Omicron variant. A report by the South African Medical Research Council, released on Saturday, detailing experiences from several hospitals in Gauteng province (where Omicron was first detected) suggested that stress was causing less illness. , with fewer patients requiring oxygen or intensive care. previous waves.

In truth, Mentioned in the reportMost of the sufferers within the Covid wards being taken care of had been “unintentional Covid admissions”, who were hospitalized for some other medical or surgical reason.

Most patients in COVID wards were not vaccinated and hospitals reported high admissions of younger patients and children; Age groups with low vaccination rates (or none, as children under 12 are not vaccinated in South Africa). Hospitals had not reported any deaths in the pediatric wards during the two weeks (from 14-29 November).

Experts in this field are investigating what led to the entry into young people, who are more likely to experience less severe COVID infections anyway.

The report also warned that “the medical profile of admitted sufferers might change considerably over the following two weeks, till then we are able to draw conclusions about illness severity with larger accuracy.”

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that preliminary data from South Africa was “encouraging” As steered, Omicron just isn’t as critical as initially feared, however he cautioned that extra knowledge is required to totally assess the chance posed by the variant.

One of the biggest questions for experts, government officials and vaccine makers is whether the Omicron variant can undo the work that COVID vaccines have done so far to reduce the risk of serious infection, hospitalization and death. has done. The CEO of Moderna and Pfizer, which have both made widely used vaccines, said it could take weeks before it becomes clear whether their shots are effective against Omicron.

Early data is not so encouraging, South African scientists said on Tuesday that significantly reduces antibody protection generated by Omicron Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines, According to a small preliminary study, Still, people who have recovered from the virus and received a booster shot are likely to have greater protection against serious illness, the study showed.

pfizerCEO Albert Boerla told The Wall Street Journal during an interview at the paper’s CEO Council Summit that he expects the number of confirmed Omicron cases to rise from dozens to millions over the next few weeks, adding: ” We’ll have an excellent understanding of what this actually means for medical manifestation earlier than the top of the 12 months to illustrate.”

Pfizer could develop a vaccine that targets Omicron by March 2022, Borla said, but it’s not yet clear whether a new shot is needed. He said it would take a few weeks to determine whether existing vaccines provide adequate protection against the variant.

Last but not least, testing for Omicron poses a challenge to health officials who are trying to measure this type of spread as quickly as possible.

When the WHO first reported the variant, and designated it as “a matter of concern”, the health agency stated that “there are numerous mutations on this variant, a few of that are associated. Preliminary proof suggests this variant”. suggest an increased risk of re-infection with , compared to other VOCs.”

The WHO famous that present COVID PCR checks proceed to detect this kind, primarily due to a discrepancy within the genetic construction of the variant. “Several laboratories have indicated that for a widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected (called S gene dropout or S gene target failure) and therefore this test is called This type can be used as a marker for, pending sequencing confirmation,” the WHO famous.

“Using this approach, this type of infection has been detected at faster rates than in previous surges, suggesting that this type of development may be of benefit.”

However, there are actually studies of a brand new “offshoot” of Omicron that lacks the deletion that permits PCR checks to search out it, making it probably far tougher to trace.

According to the Financial Times, the Omicron department has been recognized in not less than seven genome sequenced circumstances in South Africa, Australia and Canada, and is “no longer characterized, meaning that full genome sequencing is needed to detect it.” Researchers have categorized the oldest type of Omicron recognized as BA.1, whereas the offshoot is labeled as BA.2,” the FT reported Tuesday.

— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed reporting to this story.