It is more what is not known than what is about omicron, the new variant of COVID-19, detected in November in South Africa.
It is not yet known with certainty if it is more transmissible, if it will be the predominant variant, if it is more virulent, if current vaccines will work to attack it and if it will spread throughout the planet.
But scientists have clues that partially answer these questions, according to Ignacio López-Goñi, professor of Microbiology at the University of Navarra, as they have monitored their behavior since their appearance.
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It must be taken into account, for example, that in the Gauteng region the vaccination rate is very low, López-Goñi writes in the academic publication The Conversation.
In fact, according to the statistics portal Our World in Data, cited by the BBC World,
only 10% of the total population
of Africa has received at least one dose.
Is it more transmissible?
Is it then really more transmissible or is it an effect due to the fact that said population is not mostly vaccinated?
So far, López-Goñi says, it is not known how this variant will behave in another population whose vaccination rate is higher.
A female doctor transfers the Pfizer vaccine into a syringe at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts.Steven Senne / AP
Ómicron was declared a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization (WHO) because it has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein, which allows it to enter the human body.
But more than the number of mutations, what should be analyzed is the effect that all these mutations may have together, the virologist Julian Tang, from the University of Leicester, in the United Kingdom, warns BBC Mundo.
In this case, these mutations have been related to the variant being able to escape the body's immune system and point to a possible increase in transmissibility.
"Is there a reason for the general alarm and hysteria? At this moment, no. It is more what we do not know than what we know. But we must remain vigilant," says López-Goñi.
Is it more dangerous?
So does that make it more dangerous?
To verify this, you have to wait for more people to become infected and see their evolution, says the BBC.
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Angelique Coetzee, who discovered the new variant, told the aforementioned media that the omicron patients she has treated
have very mild symptoms and, so far, have not required hospitalization.
How effective are vaccines?
As for the effectiveness of the available vaccines against the variant, what is expected, for now, is that "they provide some protection (...), because they not only stimulate antibodies, but also other immune cells that attack to the cells infected by the virus ", indicates the newspaper The New York Times.
Anthony Fauci, America's leading infectious disease expert, has stressed, however, the importance of continuing to be vaccinated and
seeking the booster dose
.
"We have said it over and over again and it bears repeating. If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated, put on the booster if you are vaccinated, continue using mitigation methods, such as the mask, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces," he stressed. .
[The omicron variant of COVID-19 triggers the demand for vaccines in the US and pharmacies cannot keep up]
For their part, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson, makers of the vaccines approved for use in the United States, and AstraZeneca, widely used in Europe, have said they are studying the variant and are
confident in their capabilities to adapt. their formulas to combat it, if necessary
.
