O’Micron: But Anthony Fauci said it’s important not to over-interpret this data. (file)
Washington:
Top US scientist Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that early signs suggest the Covid-19 omicron variant was no worse than earlier strains, and was likely mild, while it would take weeks to judge its severity.
Speaking to AFP, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser divided the known and unknown about Omicron into three key areas: transmissibility, how well it protects against prior infection and immunity from vaccines, and the severity of the disease. .
Fauci said the new version is “apparently highly permeable,” much more likely than Delta, the current major global strain.
The collection of epidemiological data from around the world also indicates that re-infections with Omicron are higher and that vaccination is better at avoiding immunity.
Fauci, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said results of laboratory experiments testing the potency of antibodies from existing vaccines against Omicron should come “in the next few days to a week.”
On the question of severity, “it’s almost certainly no more serious than Delta,” Fauci said.
“There is some suggestion that it may even be less severe, because when you look at some of the cohorts being followed in South Africa, the ratio between the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations seems to be lower than in Delta.”
But he noted that it is important not to over-interpret this data because the populations being followed are younger and less likely to be hospitalized. Serious illness can also take weeks to develop.
“I think it will take at least a couple of weeks to confirm in South Africa”, he said, where the version was first reported in November.
“Then as we get more infections into the rest of the world, it may take longer to see what the level of severity is.”
Fauci said a more contagious virus that does not cause more severe disease and does not increase hospitalizations and deaths was a “best-case scenario”.
“The worst-case scenario is that not only is it highly contagious, but it also causes severe disease and then you have another wave of infections that are not necessarily affected by vaccines or people’s prior infections,” he said. “
“I don’t think the worst is going to happen, but you never know.”
mystery origin
The Omron variant is now detected in at least 38 countries.
Although it has not yet been linked to any deaths, scientists are particularly concerned by the unique “constellation” of more than 30 mutations on the spike protein that dot the surface of the coronavirus and allows it to invade cells. .
Fauci said science isn’t clear on how the version originated, but there are two main theories.
Either it developed inside the body of an immunocompromised patient, such as a person with HIV who rapidly failed to fight off the virus.
Or, the virus may have crossed from humans to animals, then returned to people in a more mutated form, in the example of “reverse zoonosis”.
Asked whether vaccinated people should act more carefully given the unknown, Fauci said the public should remain prudent, especially when traveling, and wear a mask when gathering indoors where others Vaccination status is unknown.
He stressed that people who have been fully vaccinated should also get a booster if they are eligible.
Fauci said booster shots have been shown to significantly increase levels of the antibody that binds to the spike and also translates to better disease outcomes in the real world, as seen in Israel, which has led the United States to had started its booster campaign before.
But, while boosters increase the intensity and breadth of a person’s immune response, it is still too early to know how durable the response will be and whether additional shots may be needed in the future, he said.
misinformation concern
On Tuesday, the United States hit its latest vaccination milestone, with 60 percent of the population fully vaccinated — but Fauci said there was still a long way to go.
The 80-year-old physician and scientist insists that misinformation continues to hinder the country’s pandemic response, with the problem particularly severe in Republican-led states.
“Misinformation is still a really, really significant disadvantage to an adequate response,” he said.
“We still have 60 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated and haven’t vaccinated, and most of them are along ideological and party lines, which is very unfortunate.”
Republican-led so-called “red states” continue to have fewer vaccinations than “blue” states run by Democrats.
“There’s no reason this shouldn’t happen, we should have a similar public health attitude,” he concluded.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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