Omicron: The risk of re-infection is three times that of other strains

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Omicron: The risk of re-infection is three times that of other strains

Omicron: The risk of re-infection is three times that of other strains.

Omicron’s progress and research results in the past few days, the risk of re-infection is three times that of other strains

According to media reports, US health officials 12.1 confirmed that the first case of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 virus variant has been found in a patient in California.

At the press conference, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the person returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021.

“The person has been fully vaccinated, has mild symptoms, is improving, and is self-isolating. All close contacts have tested negative.”

Countries from Europe to the Middle East have discovered new variants of Omicron.

As of December 1, 2021, a total of 59 cases have been reported in 11 European Union and European Economic Area countries: Austria (3), Belgium (2), Czech (1), Denmark (4), France (1, staying in) Niwan), Germany (9), Italy (4), the Netherlands (16), Portugal (14), Spain (2) and Sweden (3).

Cases have been reported in 12 countries and regions outside the EU/EEA-Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

South African study shows that Omicron re-infection rate is 3 times that of Delta

A preprint of a paper published by a South African scientist stated that the reinfection rate of Omicron is three times higher than the current two main variants of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), Delta and Beta.

The South African Center for Epidemiology Simulation and Analysis (SACEMA) and the South African National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NICD) stated that the latest findings “provide epidemiological evidence for Omicron’s ability to break through (patients’) immunity after the previous infection.”

Before the two units issued their statements, a research team had already published a preprint of the paper on the medrxiv.org website.

The author was Juliet Pulliam, director of the South Africa Epidemic Simulation and Analysis Center, but this paper has not been reviewed by peers.

The microbiologist Anne von Gottberg of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of South Africa also mentioned the same point in an online press conference hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier.

She said that South Africa’s COVID- 19 The reinfection rate tends to increase due to the emergence of Omicron.

The number of new cases in a single day in South Africa has suddenly increased.

The number of new confirmed cases notified by the government has soared from 312 people 10 days ago to 11,535 people today.

The South African National Institute of Infectious Diseases is collaborating with other health organizations to sequence the genome of the samples.

The Institute said yesterday that Omicron was able to bypass some immune systems, and soon became the main variant of COVID-19 virus in South Africa.

The South African National Institute of Infectious Diseases stated in a statement today that from the analysis of the normal surveillance data in South

Africa from March last year to November 27 this year, it can be seen that “Omicron’s reinfection risk curve is far greater than that of the second and third waves.

The Beta and Delta variants of the epidemic are higher.”

The statement mentioned that the increase in re-infected people, not newly infected people, shows that Omicron has developed an ability to break through the natural immunity acquired by the patient after the previous infection.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases of South Africa also stated that Pu Lim pointed out in the paper that Omicron’s model is likely to appear in various parts of South Africa from early December to mid-December.

According to the statement, this analysis is based on 2.79,969 people who tested positive for COVID-19 for at least 90 days before November 27, of which 35,670 were suspected of being infected again.

Another American media mentioned that scientists working with the Gauteng government in South Africa hope to complete a study on the lethality of Omicron by the 7th of this month.

Gauteng is the center of the spread of Omicron mutants in South Africa.

Bruce Mellado, a professor at the University of The Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, used mathematical models to predict infection trends. He said that the current number of hospitalizations and deaths are lower than expected. He called on the public to receive booster vaccines without delay.

The emergence of Omicron has caused vaccine manufacturers to rush to adjust their own vaccines to prepare for future needs.

Gregory Poland, a vaccine research and development expert at Mayo Clinic in the United States, said: “It is more urgent to (vaccinate) additional doses of vaccines.” This is not only for personal protection to maximize immunity, but also for the entire population. To prevent the spread of Omicron and the emergence of other new variants.

Reduced vaccine effectiveness?

11.30 Moderna (Moderna) CEO Stéphane Bancel predicts that its vaccine will be far less effective in dealing with the mutant strain of Omicron; it will take several months for pharmaceutical companies to produce a new vaccine against this strain on a large scale. vaccine.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Bancel said that the spike protein used by the virus to infect human cells has a large number of Omicron mutations, and the rapid spread of this variant in South Africa indicates that the current vaccine may need to be revised next year.

He mentioned:

“I think (the vaccine) will have a substantial decrease in the protective effect. I just don’t know how much, because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists who have talked to me mean like,’This will not be a good thing.'”

The virus has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein. The spike protein is not only the key used by the virus to open the door to our body cells, but also the target of most vaccines. Bancel said it should provide data on how the existing vaccine is against the Omicron variant and whether it causes serious illness within two weeks.

Monoclonal antibody drugs fail?

New York-based Regeneron Inc. (Regeneron Pharmaceuticals) said that preliminary tests found that its new coronavirus antibody drug combination is not effective against the new strain (Omicron).

This sign suggests that some products of an important therapy may need to be modified if the new strain spreads widely.

The company is currently evaluating REGEN-COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab) versus Omicron (B.1.1.529) variants.

The current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fact sheet and multiple independent analyses, including an article published on Cell, confirm that REGEN-COV retains its effectiveness against the main focus variants, including Delta, which is still today The main strain of the United States.

Regeneron has one of the largest series of fully human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 β coronavirus.

External scientists said that separate tests have shown that another authorized COVID-19 antibody cocktail therapy has no effect on Omicron.

The antibody therapy comes from Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY). Eli Lilly said it is experimenting with this new variant of antibody therapy and will not make any guesses about the results.

(source:internet, reference only)

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