Virologist Christian Drosten on the Omikron variant "Nobody can say at the moment what is in store for us"

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Christian Drosten (archive image)

Photo: Kay Nietfeld / picture alliance / dpa

Information about the new variant of the corona virus has only been circulating for a few days.

But the so-called Omikron mutant is already causing concern among recognized experts.

One of them is Christian Drosten, head of virology at the Berlin Charité.

He said on Sunday in the ZDF “heute journal” that there was concern that one was dealing with a real “Immunescape variant”.

Immunescape means that Omikron could bypass an immune defense built up against other Sars-CoV-2 variants.

Drosten continues: “The only thing you can really say with certainty is that it's better to be vaccinated.

It's even better when you're boosted. "

The next two to three weeks would have to answer whether vaccinations would have to be changed, Drosten said.

An adaptation of the mRNA vaccine substances is possible.

“It will be relatively easy to do technically.

But we're talking about months here. "

The mRNA vaccine manufacturers Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna have already announced that they will review the effectiveness of their vaccines against Omikron and make adjustments.

The new coronavirus variant called Omikron was first reported from South Africa on Thursday.

The World Health Organization classifies the variant as "worrying".

Omicron cases have since been detected in numerous countries.

In Hesse, the state government confirmed yesterday, Sunday: A patient is sick with the Omikron mutation.

In the Netherlands, where many planes land at the Amsterdam hub, the authorities named the number of 13 Omikron infected people who had arrived on flights from South Africa during the week.

France, Austria, Australia, Great Britain and most recently Canada are also sounding the alarm.

Development is reminiscent of the Delta eruption

Because of the development, strict entry regulations have been in force in Germany for direct flights from several countries in southern Africa since the weekend.

For example, Lufthansa and Eurowings are generally only allowed to transport German citizens.

All must have a fresh negative PCR test before travel;

In Germany, this is followed by a 14-day quarantine.

After a few telephone conferences, the federal government's Corona crisis team said that the spread of the new variant could probably no longer be contained.

Nonetheless, compliance with the quarantine must be strictly controlled for returnees from Africa, and this should be once again impressed on the local health authorities.

Much at Omikron is reminiscent of the early days of Delta.

Even with this variant, only a few cases were initially known, but soon afterwards it determined the infection process in many places (you can find out more here).

jok / AFP