The world community is preparing for the explosive rise of the “micron” variant, which is expected to dominate Europe in January. In Greece, a few dozen new cases of the mutant strain have been diagnosed so far, but the week between Christmas and New Year is the one where the leapfrog increase of the mutation is expected to be seen, reports Theodora Psaltopoulou, physician, professor and Epidemiologist at APE-MPE. Preventive Medicine, Medical School of EKPA.
The World Health Organization on 24.11.2021 called the mutant strain of the coronavirus “omicron” a “concern mutation”, and just a month later, the strain has appeared in at least 89 countries, and is characterized by high transmissibility with a doubling rate of 1.5-3 days, says Ms. Psaltopoulou, summarizing the latest data. In the US, coronavirus’s “micron” mutation now accounts for about 75% of all new diagnoses.
Dominance of “omicron” in Europe
The “micron” mutant is expected to dominate in Europe in January, according to the ECDC (European Center for Disease Control and Prevention), while in Great Britain the deaths from the “omicron” strain have already reached 30, while the diagnosed is over 100,000, notes Ms. Psaltopoulou. But at the same time in this country, he adds, the D strain coexists in an upsurge, with the result that there is an increase of hospital admissions in London by COVID by 90%. The rest of Europe is preparing for the explosive rise of the “micron”, from the north, such as the Netherlands, which has chosen a greater social distance (lockdown), to the southern ones, which have a different mix of measures.
The mutant strain “omicron” emphasizes the professor, behaves like the unknown X, since it presents very significant structural and functional changes compared to the first strains. Initial data show that it has at least 50 mutations compared to the original coronavirus, mainly in the spike protein, ie at the point where the virus binds to human cells. An initial post from Hong Kong shows that it multiplies 70 times faster in the human airways than in the Delta, which seems to lead to shorter incubation time within the human body and greater transmissibility. On the other hand, the infection in the lungs seems to be less serious, because it probably multiplies several times less in the lung tissue. However, all these scientific data can be considered so original when this mutation is one month old, that they need multiple confirmations in order to be generalized, Ms. Psaltopoulou emphasizes.
At the same time, he emphasizes, it seems that the vaccine with the 2 doses is not enough to treat the “omicron”, while only 1 or 2 of the monoclonal antibodies circulated by the pharmaceutical companies internationally, remain effective.
Hopes for tackling omicron hyper-mutation
Now, with the arrival of the new year 2022 and the closure of the virus two years of life between us, our hopes for the treatment of “omicron” hyper-mutation are found in the following data, according to Ms. Psaltopoulou:
Less severe infection of the pulmonary parenchyma.
T cell immunity is likely to remain and therefore anyone who has already been vaccinated or become ill is less likely to become seriously ill.
The third (boost) dose of mRNA vaccines certainly (and possibly other vaccines) seems to work in 85% of cases, protecting against severe disease.
In South Africa, and perhaps in Great Britain, chronologically preceding the arrival of the (fifth) wave of the “micron” super-mutation pandemic, the death curve appears to be much milder and does not correspond to the explosive rise of new cases.
The effectiveness of antiviral drugs for the coronavirus remains for the “omicron” strain.
“Despite the above encouraging evidence, the fact is that this is a mutant strain with many unknown elements, and other mutations may occur in the future, especially when billions of people on our planet remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated,” she said.
Instructions for protection and reduction of dispersion
In our country, a few dozen new cases of the mutant strain “omicron” have been diagnosed so far, but the week between Christmas and New Year is the one where the leapfrog increase in the effluent and the new cases are expected to be seen. The recommendations, according to the data to date, are:
The third dose of vaccination should be done by everyone (it is important that in Greece we are in a very good place compared to the European average),
Masks everywhere, especially KN95 (and hand hygiene)
Avoid overcrowding
If it can not be avoided, perform diagnostic tests before going to crowded places, and at least after 2 days, while seeing the great lack of diagnostic tests at the moment in the US and UK, we can get more, why we will need it next month.
If we find ourselves in crowded places, it is good to spend 1-2 days before we decide to see our loved ones, which may include elderly people with health problems, pregnant, immunocompromised or infants and children who have not yet been vaccinated.
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