May 5, 2024

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Why is it difficult for COVID-19 to break through the Omicron family?

Why is it difficult for COVID-19 to break through the Omicron family?



 

Why is it difficult for COVID-19 to break through the Omicron family?


The Chinese famous expert of Infectious Diseases, Zhang Wenhong, director of the Infectious Diseases Department of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai, said on June 24 that the recent breakthroughs of COVID-19 are all in the Omicron “family” and “it is difficult for it to break through again.” .

 

Why is it difficult for COVID-19 to break through the Omicron family?

 

According to China News, Shangguan News and other Chinese media reports, Zhang Wenhong made the above remarks at the Youth Science and Technology Forum of the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology on the 23rd.

Zhang Wenhong pointed out that for carbon-based life, the R0 value (basic infection number) of virus transmission is limited, and the R0 value of the Omicron family is as high as 20 to 22.

He said, “The R0 value is so high that it may have reached the limit of virus evolution.” If it exceeds this value, it may violate the biological laws of carbon-based life.

Zhang Wenhong also pointed out that so far, we have seen that COVID-19 has always been in the Omicron “family”, “so we have cross-immunity, and the vaccinations and previous infections have a certain effect.”

Regarding the “Long-COVID” (COVID-19 sequelae), he mentioned that this is a changing symptom. As time goes by, most of the symptoms of “Long-COVID” will become lighter and lighter, but a small number of people still feel Symptoms linger.

According to reports, Zhang Wenhong and his team published a paper in an international academic journal, announcing the observation data of tens of thousands of infected people in China for more than a year.

Studies have shown that most of the symptoms of infected people will disappear over time, and the “COVID-19” is highly heterogeneous, that is, the etiology is not clear and the pathogenesis is different. Some people say that their own symptoms of “COVID-19” are more serious, but after examination, it is found that there are no clinical indicators corresponding to the symptoms.

As for whether the virus will disappear in 3 years? Zhang Wenhong said that when people say “the epidemic lasts only three years”, it means that the host’s immune system makes people feel that “the epidemic lasts only three years”, but the virus is always there.

 

 


What is the R0 value of virus?

The term R0 (pronounced “R naught”) refers to the basic reproduction number of a virus, which is an epidemiological metric that represents the average number of new infections that can occur from a single infected individual in a susceptible population. However, since you did not specify a particular virus, it is not possible to provide an exact value for the R0.

 

The R0 value can vary significantly depending on the virus in question, as well as various factors such as the mode of transmission, population characteristics, and environmental conditions.

For example, the R0 value for measles is estimated to be around 12-18, while for influenza, it is typically around 1-2.

COVID-19 has shown variations in its R0 value, ranging from 2 to 5 or higher in different populations and during different stages of the pandemic.

 

It’s important to note that R0 is not a fixed value and can change over time due to factors like the emergence of new variants, changes in population behavior or immunity, and the implementation of control measures such as vaccination campaigns or public health interventions.

 

To obtain the most accurate and up-to-date R0 value for a specific virus, it is best to refer to scientific literature, epidemiological studies, or consult reputable health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(source:internet, reference only)


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