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Ómicron, the most recent variant of SARS-CoV-2 to be detected and the most mutated so far, is the new focus of attention for world authorities, health authorities, governments, the media and the general population. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined it as a “variant of concern”, a category in which the SARS-CoV-2 alpha, beta, gamma and delta variants are found. What is known so far about Ómicron? We analyze it in this edition of El Debate.
Ómicron is a “variant of concern,” according to the WHO, because it is very different from the original version of the virus when it was found in Wuhan, China. The scientific community is investigating if this variant is more contagious, if it produces stronger symptoms and, above all, if it is resistant or not to existing vaccines.
Europe is the continent where more countries have reported cases of this variant: Austria, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Switzerland. In the Asia-Pacific regions: Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia. In Africa there are cases reported in Botswana, South Africa and Reunion Island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean, while in America, the only country that has reported cases of Omicron is Canada.
To analyze this topic we talked with our guests:
– Benjamín Valente, medical expert in tropical medicine and international health.
– Ilan Shapiro, physician specializing in Public Health and medical director of Wellbeing and Health.
– And in the France 24 study we are accompanied by Paola Rojas Estevez, who is part of the Genomics of Emerging Microorganisms group of the National Institute of Health and has a master’s degree in Computational Biology.
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