Omicron Updates From Around the World

Nov. 29, 2021 — The new Omicron coronavirus variant, which has been detected in a number of international locations in latest days, will unfold extensively internationally and inevitably attain the U.S., Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated Monday.

“Obviously, we’re on high alert,” he stated on Good Morning America.

“It’s inevitable that, sooner or later, it’s going to spread widely because it has at least the molecular characteristics of being highly transmissible,” he stated. “Even though there are a lot of things about it that we do not know but will be able to ascertain in the next week or two.”

Despite the unknowns, Fauci stated, vaccinated individuals appear to be faring higher in opposition to the brand new variant than unvaccinated individuals. Those who’ve acquired booster doses look like doing even higher.

“I would strongly suggest you get boosted now and not wait for the next iteration of [the vaccine], which we may not even need,” he stated. “The pharmaceutical companies are preparing to make a specific booster for [the Omicron variant], but we may not need that.”

As of Monday morning, 12 international locations had reported 165 instances of the Omicron variant to GISAID, a worldwide database for the genomic sequencing of viruses. South Africa, which first detected the variant and reported it to the WHO, has discovered 114 instances, adopted by 19 in Botswana, 12 within the Netherlands, and 5 in Australia. Four or fewer instances have additionally been reported within the U.Okay., Belgium, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, and Italy.

On Sunday, Canada grew to become the primary nation in North America to detect the Omicron variant, with two instances confirmed in Ontario.

On Monday, Portugal confirmed 13 instances of the variant amongst a Lisbon-based soccer membership, together with one participant who had not too long ago traveled to southern Africa, in response to ABC News.

President Joe Biden will present an replace on the administration’s response to the Omicron variant on Monday, in response to The Hill. Biden met with Fauci and members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team on Sunday to debate the brand new variant and the most recent data from the WHO, which labeled Omicron a “variant of concern.”

During the assembly, Fauci advised Biden that it’ll take “approximately 2 more weeks” to be taught extra in regards to the Omicron variant, The Hill reported, together with particulars about the way it spreads, how extreme it may be, and the way effectively it will possibly evade vaccines.

Fauci emphasised that folks ought to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, noting that he believes the photographs are “likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID.” He additionally urged vaccinated individuals to get booster photographs “as soon as possible” to “provide the strongest available protection from COVID.”

A bunch of senior well being officers within the Biden administration had a name with South African scientists on Sunday to evaluation the most recent details about the Omicron variant and decide subsequent steps, in response to The Washington Post.

The administration will deal with booster photographs as a key option to shield individuals in opposition to the brand new variant as scientists be taught extra, the newspaper reported. The scientists in South Africa stated they count on extra breakthrough instances in people who find themselves totally vaccinated, although they aren’t but certain whether or not the variant causes extreme illness.

Ongoing Travel Restrictions

On Monday, the U.S. began proscribing journey for individuals from eight international locations: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The European Commission, Canada, and the U.Okay. have additionally barred vacationers from international locations in southern Africa.

Some international locations have put stricter journey bans in place by barring all overseas vacationers, in response to The New York Times. Also on Monday, Japan joined Israel and Morocco in closing borders to everybody in an effort to forestall the Omicron variant from spreading.

Australia additionally introduced that it will delay its plan to reopen borders to worldwide college students, expert migrants, and vacationers from Japan and South Korea, the newspaper reported. Health officers will use the 2-week delay to check whether or not the Omicron variant is extra contagious than the Delta variant.

Singapore and Malaysia proceeded with plans to reopen their land borders on Monday, whereas South Korea introduced that it will delay a loosening of social distancing restrictions, the newspaper reported.

Studying Vaccine Efficacy

During the subsequent 2 weeks, vaccine scientists will probably be gathering knowledge on the brand new variant to find out how contagious it’s and whether or not the present vaccines will shield in opposition to it, in response to The New York Times.

The Omicron variant already makes up many of the 2,300 new each day instances in South Africa’s Gauteng province, the newspaper reported. New infections have greater than tripled throughout the nation up to now week, and take a look at positivity has elevated from 2% to 9%.

The variant has a “Frankenstein mix” of mutations that might make it extra transmissible and in a position to evade immunity, each to vaccination and pure an infection, the newspaper reported. Doctors in South Africa have additionally reported a rise in reinfections in those that already had COVID-19 and recovered. Omicron has about 50 mutations, together with greater than 30 on the spike protein that enables the virus to invade human cells.

“Based on lots of work people have done on other variants and other mutations, we can be pretty confident these mutations are going to cause an appreciable drop in antibody neutralization,” Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist on the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, advised the Times.

Some of the mutations have been seen earlier than, however some are distinctive to Omicron. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa is testing blood from totally immunized individuals in opposition to an artificial model of the variant, and outcomes could also be obtainable in about 2 weeks.

Another group on the Africa Health Research Institute is rising reside Omicron strains to check the variant in blood samples of totally immunized individuals and those that have been contaminated earlier than, the newspaper reported. Those outcomes could take longer however will present a greater image of real-world vaccine efficacy.

Based on the outcomes, vaccine makers could possibly tweak their photographs to assist. Pfizer and Moderna started testing their vaccines in opposition to Omicron final week and introduced they may adapt their present vaccines inside 6 to eight weeks and ship the primary batches inside 100 days.

Reporting Mild Symptoms So Far

A South African physician, who was one of many first to suspect {that a} totally different coronavirus pressure was circulating, stated Sunday that signs appear gentle to this point, in response to Reuters.

On Nov. 18, Angelique Coetzee, MD, seen that seven sufferers at her clinic had signs that have been totally different from these of the Delta variant: excessive fatigue, physique aches, and a headache. They examined optimistic for COVID-19, and she or he reported the outcomes to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

Coetzee, who can also be chair of the South African Medical Association and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, stated sufferers haven’t reported a lack of scent or style or a serious drop in oxygen ranges. Most of her sufferers with the Omicron variant are beneath age 40, and about half weren’t vaccinated.

“Most of them are seeing very, very mild symptoms, and none of them so far have admitted patients to [the hospital],” she advised Reuters. “We have been able to treat these patients conservatively at home.”