The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that it is coordinating trials with a large number of researchers around the world to better understand the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has been identified by South African scientists and considered a “variant of concern” by the WHO. The organization said it remains unclear whether the new variant is more transmissible or causes more serious infection.
In an update on omicron published this Sunday, WHO detailed what knowledge it already has about the new variant:
Transferability: It remains unclear whether omicron is transmitted more easily from person to person compared to other variants, including delta.
“The number of people testing positive has increased in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiological studies are underway to understand whether this was caused by omicron or other factors,” the WHO statement reads.
disease severity: It is still unclear whether omicron infection causes more severe symptoms compared to other strains. Preliminary data indicate that hospitalization rates in South Africa are increasing, but this may be a result of the overall increase in cases.
“Currently, there is no information to suggest that symptoms associated with omicrons are different from those of other variants,” says the WHO. “Infections initially reported were among college students – younger individuals who tend to have milder disease – but understanding the level of severity of the omicron variant will take days to several weeks.”
Effectiveness of vaccines: WHO said it is working with partners to understand the potential impact of this variant on prevention measures that are in use, including vaccines. “Vaccines remain critical to reducing severe illness and death, including against the dominant circulating virus, delta. Current vaccines remain effective against severe illness and death.”
Protection from previous infection: According to WHO, preliminary evidence indicates that the risk of reinfection with the omicron variant may be greater. That is, people who previously had Covid-19 may be more easily reinfected with this variant compared to other worry variants. “But information is limited. More information on this will be available in the coming days and weeks,” the statement added.
Effectiveness of current tests: PCR-type tests continue to detect infection, including with the omicron, as well as with other variants, explains the WHO. Studies will determine if there is any impact on other types of testing.
Effectiveness of current treatments: Corticosteroids and IL6 receptor blockers will continue to be effective in treating patients with severe Covid-19, says the WHO, adding that other treatments will be evaluated to see if they remain effective, given changes in parts of the virus in the omicron variant.
Restrictions on African countries
The WHO regional office in Africa spoke out on Sunday against the suspension of flights and other measures applied to southern Africa and called for government decisions to be guided by science, given the detection of the omicron variant of the new coronavirus.
“Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly slowing Covid-19’s expansion, but they impose a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” the UN agency’s regional office indicated in a statement.
“If restrictions are adopted, they should not necessarily be invasive or intrusive. And they should be based on science, according to the International Health Regulations, which are mandatory”, points out WHO Africa.
The director of the agency’s office on the continent, Matshidiso Moeti, praised “the speed and transparency of the governments of South Africa and Botswana” when informing the world about the detected variant.
“WHO is with African countries that have had the courage to courageously share public health information that saves lives, helping to protect the world against the expansion of Covid-19”, said the regional leader of the organization.
Furthermore, it urged countries to “respect their legal obligations and adopt science-based public health measures” because it is “crucial that countries that share data receive support”.
“With the omicron variant already detected in various regions of the world, focusing restrictions on Africa attacks global solidarity,” said Moeti.
South Africa calls for end of country restrictions
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, demanded on Sunday that the governments that enacted restrictions against South African countries, due to the detection of the omicron variant of the new coronavirus, back off.
For the president, the measures are “unjustified and unjustly discriminate” the region, in addition, he guarantees that “they will not be effective to prevent the expansion of this variant”.
“Instead of banning travel, the rich countries of the world should support the efforts of developing economies to access and manufacture sufficient doses of vaccines for their populations without delay,” said Ramaphosa.
“The emergence of the omicron variant should be a wake-up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot continue,” said the head of government.
The president recalled that the South African Executive decided not to adopt new internal restrictions, but highlighted that, given the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, the stance will only be maintained if there is an increase in the level of vaccination, which currently stands at 24 % of the population.
Detection in multiple countries
The strain has been detected in South Africa, with first cases recorded in Botswana and Hong Kong. Then came positives in Belgium, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, among others.
With still few records of infection on the planet, omicron is characterized by presenting a high number of mutations and its possible impacts are still being studied by specialists.
Countless countries in the world, starting with the Europeans, passing through the United States and Russia, have already announced restrictions on flights from countries in southern Africa.
#remains #omicrons #disease