Despite reports of milder symptoms of the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron cannot be underestimated, scientists warn. While anecdotal reports suggest this South African-born strain may cause less severe disease, it will take weeks to get accurate data.
While the world is trying to contain the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19, some are hoping to grab onto reports from South Africa that Omicron can only cause mild illness. But while previous variants of the coronavirus have been associated with different symptoms and severity, it would be dangerous to assume that Omicron is a “viral kitty,” experts warn.
According to The Guardian, at a briefing organized by the South African Ministry of Health on Monday, Unben Pillay, a general practitioner from Midrand on the outskirts of Johannesburg, said that the cases he saw were usually mild: “We see patients with dry coughs, fever, night sweating and severe body pain. Vaccinated people tend to do much better. “
Meanwhile, a Pretoria-based general practitioner, Dr. Angelica Coetzee, says many of the patients she has seen showed unusual symptoms, especially extreme fatigue, and none of them reported a loss of taste or smell.
While it may be weeks before we get any definitive answers as to the nature of the threat posed by Omicron, The Guardian notes, the first evidence is emerging that vaccines do provide at least some protection.
Dr. Vasila Jassat of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases claims that in the South African city of Tshwane, where Omicron was found, 87% of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.
Rudo Mativa, head of the intensive care unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath, Soweto’s main hospital, paints a similar picture: “We are seeing a marked change in the demographic profile of COVID-19 patients. Young people between the ages of 20 and a little over 30 are presented with moderate to severe illnesses, some of whom require intensive care. About 65% of them are not vaccinated at all, and most of the rest are only half vaccinated. “
However, these demographic differences may simply be a factor in vaccination rates, The Guardian points out: 64% of people over 60 in South Africa received at least one dose, compared with 26% of people aged 18 to 34.
As encouraging as the reports of relatively mild symptoms of the new coronavirus variant are, they should be treated with caution. Dr. Müge evik, an infectious disease physician at the University of St Andrews, says: “All claims about the severity of Omicron – be it more severe or light – are currently unreliable as they are based on case studies or very little data. … Even the first epidemiological studies are likely to be biased because finding a causal relationship between disease severity and new variants poses major challenges, especially now that many people have acquired immunity either through vaccination or infection. ”
On the other hand, The Guardian notes, from the experience of previous versions of the coronavirus, it is known that different variants of COVID can cause more or less severe illness and different symptoms. For example, “Alpha” (the first detected in the UK variant of the coronavirus) was more contagious and associated with more severe illness than earlier variants, but the symptoms were generally similar. Delta (first discovered in India) is even more contagious and deadly, with the two main symptoms of COVID – persistent cough and loss of smell and taste – less common, but more people are reporting headaches and / or runny nose.
One reason for these differences may be a change in the way the virus interacts with our immune cells. Many common symptoms of illness, such as a fever or runny nose, are primarily caused by our immune response to infections, rather than direct damage caused by viruses or bacteria. Differences in our immune responses may also explain why two people do not necessarily experience the same symptoms if they are infected with the same virus or variant of COVID-19.
“This is all due to variations in genome fragments that lead to changes in proteins that the virus uses when it enters our bodies,” explains Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick. – Just as these options affect our immune system in different ways, and therefore we worry about the effectiveness of the vaccine, some of the same effects can affect how our body responds to the virus and the symptoms we get. “.
See also: Named people who should postpone their trips due to the Omicron coronavirus
.