The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the new variant of covid-19, which in a short time (less than two weeks) has already reached 40 countries around the world. Some nations are again blockading their borders - while internal circulation is beginning to weaken. Others, however, require mandatory vaccine administration.
In all this, there are questions that remain unanswered, and the need for them seems urgent as the end-of-year festivities are looming.
How was it discovered?
The origin is uncertain. The first case was reported by the South African health authorities to the WHO on November 24 - exactly two weeks after the first sample was collected. The variant has spread to Botswana, Ghana, and Nigeria on the African continent.
Where have cases already been registered?
Omicron has already reached the five continents, and is present in more than 40 countries.
Should one panic?
The variant has several mutations, mostly in the Spike protein, used by the virus to attack cells and which is the target of vaccines developed so far. This fact worries the WHO, as it may increase the risk of transmissibility and resistance to vaccines.
Ongoing research, which is still at an early stage, suggests that those who have already had Covid-19 may be reinfected with the new variant, but with less severe symptoms.
What are the symptoms?
According to South African doctors, the symptoms found in patients in their twenties and thirties are milder than those that have been associated with the Delta variant - which is dominant worldwide.
According to the president of the South African Medical Association, Angelique Coetzee, complaints of intense fatigue, muscle and headaches, throat irritation and, in a few cases, dry cough and low-grade fever were reported, but without loss of smell or taste, elevated pulse rates and low oxygen levels.
What don't we know yet?
Whether the strain is actually more transmissible, whether it causes more severe symptoms or is more lethal, and also whether it can actually decrease the effectiveness of vaccines.
It is also too early to tell whether antiviral drugs may see their effect weakened by the new variant.
Finally, it is not certain that omicron will establish itself as the dominant variant, Delta. If it does, it is expected to cause more than half of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the European Union and the European Economic Area in the coming months.
What is being done?
What was already being done: non-pharmacological protective measures, such as social distancing, wearing a mask, and ventilating spaces.
Increased restrictive measures and calls for testing and vaccination - which includes booster doses in some countries - are part of the arsenal to halt the spread of the new variant and the increase in covid-19 cases, while the pharmaceutical industry is testing the effectiveness of drugs.
Is childhood vaccination justified?
The European Medicines Agency has approved the use of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine for pediatric use (children from five to 11 years of age), at a lower dose than that used from 12 years of age, starting next year, but expert opinions are divided. However, with this or another variant, generalizing booster vaccination seems to remain a valid option for now, as well as vaccination coverage in countries where it does not yet exist, with the risks of virus mutation aggravated.
What is the response of the countries?
While several countries have banned flights - the South African President has denounced "all forms of health apartheid" of which the nation is a victim - and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has warned of the injustice and ineffectiveness of this option, Brussels wants to see a discussion about mandatory vaccines, because one third of the European population is not inoculated.
Source: vision