Health officials are warning people worldwide of the threat of the Omicron variant as it continues to spread across various countries at an accelerated rate and urges residents to be careful even if the new variant is milder than the Delta variant.
While there are many who are currently saying that the Omicron variant is milder than the other coronavirus variants, it is not yet completely certain. The new variant could still cause widespread outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Omicron Variant's Spread
In a technical briefing last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the Omicron variant was spreading much faster than the Delta variant in South Africa. However, the new variant also appeared to be spreading much faster in other countries where Delta circulation was high, including the United Kingdom.
The global health agency said that with the currently accessible data, authorities expect that the Omicron variant will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs. While it remains unclear how severe the new variant's symptoms are, it has so far been diagnosed as being mild compared to the Delta variant, CNN reported.
However, a new study shows that the risk of reinfection with the new Omicron variant was more than five times higher and showed no signs of being milder than the Delta variant. The situation comes as infection rates across Europe have soared and continue to threaten year-end festivities.
The Imperial College London was responsible for conducting the study that was based on UK Health Security Agency and National Health Service data on individuals who were found to be positive for the coronavirus in a PCR test in England between Nov. 29 and Dec. 11. While the study said that there was no evidence that the Omicron had a different severity compared to the Delta variant, there was still limited data on hospitalizations of infected patients.
Severity of the New Variant
"Controlling for vaccine status, age, sex, ethnicity, asymptomatic status, region, and specimen data, Omicron was associated with a 5.4-fold higher risk of reinfection compared with Delta," said the study, which was dated Dec. 16, Reuters reported.
The fear of the Omicron variant comes as a new pill from Pfizer in treating the coronavirus infection is being hailed as a game-changer. Many believe it could significantly reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths related to the widespread disease.
However, the demand for the treatment, which is called Paxlovid, is expected to drastically outrun available supply. The situation could stifle its ability to fight what medical professionals say is an incoming wave of infections brought by the new variant.
Many experts are urging United States President Joe Biden's administration to take measures to support the manufacturing capacity of the pill by enlisting the help of other companies to increase the number of doses that Pfizer can make.
In a statement, the director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, Krishna Udayakumar, said that she believes they should be doing everything they can to support each other. The official said that the process requires a full-court press, The Hill reported.
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