The appearance of the Omicron strain has raised global concern as a stake in “very high” global risk, and has already led the US and other countries to restrict travel from South Africa, where the strain first appeared. Mary Bushman, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard University based on her recent publication on newer strains and their impact on prevention measures in the population, answers questions about the newest strain of the virus. The Doctors of the Therapeutic Clinic of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Theodora Psaltopoulou, Panos Malandrakis, Giannis Danasis and Thanos Dimopoulos (Rector of EKPA) summarize her interview.
Question: According to your post, newer strains are more contagious and can “escape” the protection of the immune system, eventually leading to a symptomatic COVID-19 infection. What about the Omicron strain?
Answer: We do not know yet. Numerous mutations in the virus may demonstrate its potential to lead to symptomatic disease and be more easily transmitted, but this is a speculation based on laboratory data, and remains to be confirmed by real-life data. The data showing that in South Africa the micron strain is rapidly replacing the delta as the mainstream strain is an indirect indicator, which probably confirms this reasoning, but is not proof.
Question: Will existing vaccines provide protection to the new strain?
Answer: It is still early to know the degree of protection that mRNA vaccines will provide against the new strain, however it is hopeful that mRNA vaccines not only lead to the production of neutralizing antibodies but also induce T cellular immunity which may provide partial protection in younger strains, even despite mutations in the virus, which help it escape antibody protection.
Question: Imposing a travel ban by the Public Health Department may save time, but how will scientists use it as a means of preventing the new strain from spreading?
Answer: Perhaps the imposition of this measure is always a little late, as the random fragmentary detection of newer strains shows a much larger dispersion, so the extra time we gain may not be of use. In contrast, low-cost rapid “rapid testing” sampling can make a difference in prevention.
Question: If in a few weeks from now, the Omicron strain starts to weaken and this vigilance sounds like a “false alarm”, what lessons does it teach us about the future of the pandemic? What can we do to avoid a strain that confirms even the most ominous predictions?
Answer: All the data lead to the immediate need for mass vaccination in low-income countries, especially in Africa. Vaccines can protect the population of these countries that have a low vaccination rate, and reducing the spread of the virus gives the virus less opportunity to mutate.
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