“We could have thought of getting rid of the original virus. With the Omicron variant and with the vaccine we have, this is no longer imaginable. Omicron will continue to circulate. Each of us will meet it: the choice is whether to do it vaccinated or unvaccinated.” Professor Roberto Burioni, in the ‘classroom’ of Che tempo che fa, gives a lecture on the Omicron variant, now the master of the scene also in Italy.
“Omicron is a new virus, very different from previous variants. With the 2020 virus, one sick person infected 2 people. With the Delta variant, one sick person infected 6 people. With the Omicron variant we are at the level of one of the most contagious viruses on the face of the Earth, one patient infects more than 10 people, “says the virologist.
“Other features of Omicron-induced disease make control more difficult and easier to spread. For example, incubation: the original virus caused disease 6-7 days after infection. The Omicron variant causes disease after 2- 3 days and this makes it more difficult to track cases. The other important element is that Omicron is able to infect vaccinated people much more effectively, “he says.
“It is true, those who are vaccinated are infected less, there is an important degree of protection especially with the third dose. When the vaccinated is infected it is less contagious, but the vaccine barrier has become less effective” compared to contagion. “The ability of the vaccine to block the severe form of the disease has remained very effective. The latest ISS data shows a protection much higher than 90%”, with 3 doses, he observes.
“We could have thought of getting rid of the original virus,” he says. “With Omicron and the vaccine we have, this is no longer imaginable. Omicron will continue to circulate. Each of us will meet it: the choice is whether to do it vaccinated or unvaccinated.”
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