Omicron Q&A
WHO on 26th November gave the name of the new variant of concern as omicron which is also the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet.
When is omicron most contagious?
Two days before getting symptoms and till three days after you get symptoms. By the eighth day the transmission rate is very less.
Is Omicron mild?
Unlike Delta variant, which lead to covid pneumonia-like problems and breathlessness, Omicron has reduced lung cell infectivity, reduced viral load in the lungs, and lesser inflammation. It mainly affects the upper airways of the body, including the nose, throat, and windpipe. Due to the higher transmissibility of Omicron, there is a huge upsurge of covid infections, but the cases are usually mild and the death count is extremely low. The graph below from the city of London clearly shows that, even though the cases are huge, unlike the previous variant waves, this time, the death rate is significantly lower. The population getting sick and hospitalized is significantly composed of unvaccinated people or vaccinated people but with waned immunity. Also, a lot of children are still not eligible for vaccination in different countries which can lead to a higher case count.
However, we need to be careful. Even though the number of critical patients requiring hospitalization might be less for the Omicron variant, the sheer volume of cases can overwhelm the healthcare facilities.
COVID Pneumonia: Medical condition wherein the SARS-CoV-2 virus penetrates into lungs and can cause a lot of inflammation which can lead to respiratory distress and lung damage.
Why is Omicron so transmissible?
Omicron is the second-highest transmissible virus known in recent human history (after the H1N1 influenza virus, which caused the Spanish Flu in 1918). Omicron might be able to bind stronger to increase transmission and infectivity. The rate of reinfection is high in the case of Omicron. Many people who had developed immunity for prior infection weren’t able to defend against the Omicron virus. Also, many breakthrough infections for fully vaccinated people are emerging, clearly indicating the strength of Omicron to evade immunity. But still, the mild symptoms confirm the efficacy of vaccines that were designed to prevent severe issues and hospitalizations. Omicron mutations are different from the mutations seen in the other variants. It has a stronger positive selection than any previous variants, which has an evolutionary advantage. Omicron doesn’t show mutations found in other variants such as in alpha, beta, gamma, and delta variants. Omicron strain’s mutations seem to be arising from the original Wuhan virus strain, and it has greater than 50 mutations compared to the Wuhan ancestral strain. Usually, mutations in the spike protein RNA happen at a rate of nearly 0.45 mutations per month. But Omicron’s mutation rate has been 1.5 mutations per month which is 3.3 times faster than the average rate of other variants. To explain such a trend, studies have indicated that viruses could have mutated inside a non-human host, and mice particularly seem like a good candidate.
How to avoid Omicron infection?
On a personal level, people should take the utmost precautions by wearing masks properly. A single cloth mask won’t be enough as it only prevents larger particles but provides a little protection against smaller particles, thus inefficient in avoiding the spread. The surgical mask of a good filtering system might protect the face well, but it still has large gaps on the edges of the face. Therefore, using a surgical mask and the cloth mask is recommended as it would provide a close fit to the face. Or else, the use of N95 worn with the proper fitting is highly recommended.
Further, booster shots should be administered for people experiencing waned immunity or compromised immunity to curb the Omicron virus. Since Omicron can evade the immunity, Omicron-specific vaccines should be devised, or even better would be a development of a vaccine that is variant proof for Covid. However, we have seen that wealthy nations have hoarded lots of vaccines leading to vaccine distribution inequality. Unless the whole world is vaccinated, a new variant will likely emerge and spread throughout. Omicron is very unlikely to be the last variant of concern. Therefore, taking several boosters for only a certain number of countries while billions are unvaccinated will not end the pandemic.
If Omicron is a milder virus, will it lead to the end of the pandemic due to herd immunity? Should we let everyone get affected and achieve herd immunity?
It is often referred to as a natural vaccine. But this is dangerous since we are not aware of the long-term consequences of this. What would happen 6-12 months in the future cannot be predicted. Thus it is a risky thing to do. Vaccination is still the first line of defense against the virus. This should be seen as an opportunity to vaccinate as many people as possible. If we take the example of South Africa, the country witnessed a small peak, but this might not be the case for every country.
Source: Wikipedia
Best resources to get information about COVID-19 in India. https://www.mohfw.gov.in
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