Since its discovery in South Africa, the Omicron variant has been shaking the planet. Border closures, vaccine dose rushes, summit meetings, stock market collapse … What if this variant was in fact good news that would allow us to end the pandemic? Explanations.
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Just days after South Africa’s announcement, the doctor who sounded the alert, Dr. Angelic Coetzee, declared than the first cases Omicron observed suffered from symptoms different from the Delta variant: fatigue and aches, but without loss of taste andsmell. Above all, she specified that the symptoms were milder and that no case required hospitalization. At the end of last week, she even spoke of “extremely mild” cases. This is also the opinion of Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House adviser on health crisis. He explained on Sunday evening that reports from South Africa indicated that the variant appeared to cause mild symptoms, compared to the Delta variant.
A less dangerous and more contagious variant?
In contrast, the Omicron variant appears to be extremely contagious. Preliminary data from South Africa support much higher transmissibility at the Delta. This trend is also observed in Denmark, a country very well equipped in matter of sequencing. The number of cases has tripled in 48 hours in this country. The other European countries, less well organized to sequence, undoubtedly underestimate the number of cases attributable to the Omicron variant. In addition, it seems that the Omicron variant has actually been present in Europe since much longer !
The Omicron variant could well spell the end of barrier gestures!
This high contagiousness could well be good news. If the Omicron variant is indeed more contagious than the Delta variant, it will gradually, if not quickly, replace it. And if Omicron’s symptoms are indeed mild, and no patient requires hospitalization, that could spell the end of barrier gestures!
Caution and patience …
However, these data should be taken with a grain of salt. Until now, the new variants have always been necessarily more contagious (otherwise they cannot exist) without ever being less dangerous …
These are preliminary data, we will have to wait a few weeks before having reliable data. In addition, the African population is not comparable to the European population: less vaccinated and younger. On the one hand, what will be the level of propagation of the Omicron variant within a population well covered by the vaccination? Will the available vaccines be as effective as with the other variants? Laboratories Pfizer and Moderna are already at work to answer this question and create a new vaccine, if necessary. On the other hand, the lightness of the symptoms observed could perhaps quite simply be explained by the youth of the patients … While waiting to know more, the best attitude remains to keep barrier gestures and get vaccinated.
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