The variant is called “omicron” and it was first reported by researchers in South Africa on Nov. 24 after several doctors noticed symptoms among their patients that differed slightly compared to those caused by the delta variant, the dominant version of the germ spreading globally. Genetic sequencing revealed the variant sports a large number of mutations unseen in other variants.
As of Nov. 26, omicron has not been detected in the U.S., but experts say it’s only a matter of time until cases emerge. The World Health Organization has declared it a “variant of concern.”
Omicron has since spread to several other regions, including Australia, Belgium, Britain, Hong Kong, Israel and Italy. Some cases have no connection to South Africa, suggesting the variant may already be spreading locally.
Early evidence suggests there’s an increased risk of reinfection with omicron, despite vaccination or previous infection, and that this version spreads more rapidly than others. But there’s no guarantee this is true — yet.
Experts are working quickly to understand if the omicron variant can cause more severe disease or evade vaccines or immunity from infection. Among the mysteries, however, there are signs of hope, experts say.
The US is more prepared this time
More than 196.2 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Nov. 28, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker. That’s about 55 million more people protected against the disease than when the delta variant was first detected in the country in June.
This means the U.S. is not in the same position it was months ago when it faced a new, more dangerous variant — and definitely not where it was when the pandemic began.
“We now have a better understanding of how the virus is transmitted from person to person. We have antivirals that are coming down the pike. We have a better understanding of how to manage and treat cases of people who do get infected,” Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, an infectious-disease physician, virologist and global health expert at Emory University in Georgia, told The Atlantic. “We have vaccines and incredible mRNA technology that allows us to adapt quickly to a changing virus, and we will have second-generation vaccines. It’s definitely not back to square one.”
If omicron turns out to cause more serious disease, the threat would lie mostly among the unvaccinated or those who cannot build a proper response to the COVID-19 vaccines because of underlying illness, said Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“It’s not the same ground anymore. It’s not as dry,” Ellebedy told STAT of the pool of people who are susceptible to coronavirus infection. “If you think of it as a fire, yes, there are some dry patches there but there are some areas that have been damp and humid. And the fire is not going to find it easy. And that kind of makes sense because of that preexisting immunity.”
Other coronavirus variants have emerged before
Several coronavirus variants deemed “variants of concern” — meaning they are more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccines or treatments — have emerged before, with no serious consequences.
For example, the beta variant, also detected in South Africa last year, is still considered a concerning version of the virus by the World Health Organization; so is the gamma variant first reported in Brazil last year.
However, experts admit omicron looks and acts differently, suggesting it could cause issues. But others warn against judging a virus by its mutations.
Researchers in South Africa say omicron has more than 30 mutations in its spike protein — the part the coronavirus uses to enter human cells. But most mutations do not affect a virus’ behavior, experts say. It’s also important to note only about 25% of adults in South Africa are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, The Washington Post reported, and cases are relatively low compared to other countries.
COVID-19 vaccines will likely still protect you
Because early evidence suggests omicron may be more transmissible than other variants, Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, told The Washington Post there’s “genuine” cause for concern, but she thinks “it’s premature to panic … There’s just a lot we don’t know at the moment.”
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins agrees.
There’s “reason to be pretty optimistic” that our COVID-19 vaccines will still protect you against the omicron variant, Collins told MSNBC on Monday, Nov. 29.
“All of the other variants that have emerged during this COVID-19 pandemic have shown response to the vaccine, including delta,” Collins told the outlet. “If there’s a message I would like people to hear this morning is get the vaccinations and the boosters. This is the best way to protect yourself against delta, which is still very much with us in the U.S. and omicron if it comes to the U.S., which it almost certainly will at some point.”
In the event omicron evades COVID-19 shots to a clinically significant degree, vaccine manufacturers are ready.
Moderna said it’s testing whether its current vaccine is effective against the omicron variant, and that “data is expected in the coming weeks.”
The company is also working on a “variant-specific” booster shot.
Pfizer is testing its vaccine against omicron, too. The company told Reuters it “expects more data from the laboratory tests in two weeks at the latest. These data will provide more information about whether [omicron] could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally.”
Health experts are testing whether other treatments such as monoclonal antibodies will continue to work against omicron.
Omicron coronavirus cases have been mild, so far
Doctors caring for COVID-19 patients in South Africa say the omicron variant cases they have treated have been mild so far, and are mostly among younger people.
“What we are seeing clinically in South Africa — and remember I’m at the epicenter of this where I’m practicing — is extremely mild, for us [these are] mild cases,” Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, told BBC on Sunday, Nov. 28. “We haven’t admitted anyone, I’ve spoken to other colleagues of mine and they give the same picture.”
Coetzee said her patients infected with the omicron variant have scratchy not sore throats, and don’t have a cough or loss of smell or taste.
The World Health Organization said early data “suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron.”
The group also said “there is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants.”
©2021 McClatchy Washington Bureau. Visit mcclatchydc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
