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The Omicron Variant and What It Means

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10 Dec 2021

8 Min Read

Ali Moossajee, Deva Rani (Guest Contributor)

IN THIS ARTICLE

Worried about the COVID-19 Omicron variant? Ali Moossajee and Deva Rani share all you need to know about it.

 

When I heard there was a new variant, I’m sure all the Marvel fans out there, like me, thought it was another version of Loki, the Norse mythology god known to cause chaos! Unfortunately though, the cause of this chaos is probably the last thing any of us want to hear — the latest found variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus, Omicron.

 

Right when we had a glimpse of an endemic stage of COVID-19 that saw plans for our Christmas, year-end, and new-year’s vacation, and getting used to how life would be before 2022 comes about, Malaysia detected its first case of Omicron

 

For any of you who may not have heard of this variant, or simply stopped following COVID related news, here’s a catch up on what you need to know regarding Omicron so far.

Understanding the Omicron Variant

The First Catch

 

The first verified Omicron infection was found in a South African specimen taken in early November 2021. Many nations have since imposed travel bans or limitations on visitors from Africa, including South Africa, despite not yet knowing if this strain is to be blamed for the country's rapid spread or if it even originated there — a pretty unfair treatment, if you ask me, but that’s a story for another day!

 

According to The Guardian, the Omicron variation has since been confirmed in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Malaysia, and who knows what other country may pop up next! There’s still a chance that the Omicron variation has spread unnoticed to other nations, despite the fact that governments throughout the world have already closed their borders to South Africa and others.

 

With all this information, it really shows us that almost 2 years into the pandemic, the healthcare systems all over the world are still as vulnerable as ever, that we’re nowhere as close to the end of the pandemic as we thought we were, and we’re probably not as equipped to prepare for a second pandemic as we should be.

 

A Microscopic Look at Omicron

 

Now let's dive in a little deeper and catch a glimpse of the symptoms of Omicron, how it can be treated, and whether it affects the efficiency of vaccines.

 

According to the World Health Organisation, there’s currently no information to suggest that the symptoms of the Omicron variant, which was first identified in Botswana, are different from other COVID-19 strains. However, it’s been revealed that early cases appear to be mild where some of the symptoms reported includes headaches, body aches, as well as a scratchy throat. Unlike the Delta variants, patients have so far not reported a loss of taste or smell and no major drop in oxygen levels.

 

Moving on to the next key feature we’ve to look at is its transmissibility. In general, transmissibility is the ability of a disease or trait being able to spread from one person to another. In this case, it’s not really clear that Omicron is more transmissible when we compare it to other variants such as the Delta variant. WHO further updates that while the number of people who are tested positive for Omicron has risen significantly in South Africa, epidemiological studies are still being conducted to determine whether this is due to Omicron or other factors.

 

According to Executive Dean of Taylor’s Faculty of Health and Medical Science Emeritus Professor P.T. Thomas, "While there still needs to be testing to confirm this, Omicron has many mutations as compared to the original virus and it appears that those mutations make the variant more transmissible.” Preliminary research suggests that the Omicron variant may have a higher probability of reinfection than other Variants-of-Concern (VOC) (i.e. those who have previously had COVID-19 may be more easily reinfected with Omicron), although data is limited.

In the next few days and weeks, more information about this will become more accessible.

Virus variants

Some of you may wonder, am I still protected if I’m vaccinated?

 

Well, according to Unicef, the Omicron variation is still being studied to see if it affects the potency of COVID-19 vaccines. While it's still debatable if the immunisations are effective against the Omicron variant, WHO is collaborating with technical partners to determine the impact of this variant on existing countermeasures, such as vaccinations. WHO believes it’s acceptable to assume that the present vaccination programmes are capable of reducing the risk of serious diseases and death. So while the vaccine is pretty much doing its intended job (reducing the severeness of the side effects), it’s still possible to get and spread the virus even when vaccinated.

 

Apart from vaccines, commonly used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including the Omicron strain, as we have seen with previous types. Other types of tests, such as rapid antigen detection tests, are being studied to see if there’s any impact. WHO suggests that other pharmaceutical treatments for treating patients with severe COVID-19 are claimed to be highly effective, such as corticosteroids and IL6 Receptor Blockers. Other medications will be investigated to see if they’re still effective in light of the Omicron variant's alterations to parts of the virus.

 

So, why is the Omicron variant so different from the previous variant designation?

 

The Delta variant was first documented as far back as October 2020 before raising interest in April 2021 and ultimately garnering its VOC label in May.

 

Whereas Alpha (initially referred to as the UK variant) experienced a similar trajectory, with months passing between preliminary detection and VOC designation.

 

In both of these instances the world was slow to notice the spread of a dangerous SARS-CoV-2 variant.

 

In the case of Omicron, due to the extraordinarily robust nature of South Africa’s genomic surveillance system, this new and unusual variant was caught before it had significantly spread around the world. Dr. David Owens, from OT&P Healthcare in Hong Kong says that it’s not COVID-19 itself that is dangerous, but rather the epidemic's ability to overwhelm health care institutions that’s the problem.

 

As allude on above, the main task now is to overcome vaccine scepticism and increase immunisation rates, particularly among the elderly and most vulnerable.

Key Facts and Safety Measures

Covid-19 Safety Measures

The Uncontrollable Is Scary But Remember What You Can Do

 

As much as this is scary stuff and worrisome from a day-to-day perspective of what life may go back to being like, it’s important to look at the situations objectively, logically, and learn from what has happened in the past. 

 

With the general consensus of needing to live with the virus, many countries worldwide have loosened COVID-19 restrictions over the past few months, including Malaysia. While we’re finally able to enjoy the benefits of the lifting of restrictions, many of us are starting to become lax with our SOPs now that most of the population has been fully vaccinated. Having said that, we all need to work together to make sure we do our part in ensuring ours and others safety especially with the lack of information on this new strain. In fact, Malaysia is already holding back on progressing into the endemic stage because of this!

 

As much as I too am tired of being suffocated by layers of masks when I go out despite the heat, humidity, and sometimes wanting to rip it off just to have some normalcy again, I’d like to think of it as not only doing it to keep myself safe, but for all the people around me. It feels good to know that you might save someone's life by just being a little responsible. 

 

I’m sure I'm also going to sound like a broken record but, if you haven't already, then GET VACCINATED! Although there are some concerns on the effect that Omicron has on the effectiveness of vaccines, it’s still the best bet to reduce transmissibility, severe symptoms, and even death as a result of catching the virus. For all those anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists out there who think getting vaccinated is the government's way of installing 5G chips to track you, just do it to enjoy ‘better connectivity’ and ‘internet speeds’ then. 

 

Prof. Dr. Chong Pei Pei, Head of Research for Taylor’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences further explains, “The biggest concern is the effectiveness of the currently available vaccines and treatments against Omicron, as this variant of concern (VOC) has high possibility of escaping the immune system, and the speculation that it might be more highly transmissible than the other variants.

 

Adhering to the physical distance of SOPs, better ventilation, and avoiding crowded spaces are imperative for us to prevent from being infected. In addition, those who are eligible (>3-6 months after second dose) should take the booster jab to enhance the level of the neutralising antibodies.”

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