New COVID “Omicron” Variant: What You Need to Know
A new COVID variant (classified by the WHO as “Omicron”) has emerged. Here’s what you need to know. Per CNN, the “discovery of a new and potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant by South African health authorities has sparked a forceful reaction across the world, with a number of countries banning travelers from several southern African countries.” Here’s what you need to know - scroll below for curated articles and the latest news. The New York Times maintains live updates — click here.
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CNN
The discovery of a new and potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant by South African health authorities has sparked a forceful reaction across the world, with a number of countries banning travelers from several southern African countries.
The World Health Organization announced Friday that it has designated the newly identified coronavirus variant, B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern, named Omicron.
Besides South Africa, the newly identified variant has been detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and Belgium.
It appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa and scientists are concerned that its unusually high number of mutations could make it more transmissible and result in immune evasion.
WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE), an independent group of experts, met Friday to discuss the variant, a WHO statement said.
The advisers recommended that WHO designate the variant as "of concern," referencing the variant's large number of mutations, the possibility of increased risk of reinfection and other evidence.
A number of studies are underway, and WHO will update member states and the public as needed, the WHO statement said.
WHO called on countries to enhance their surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand coronavirus variants.
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WHO/UN
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), preliminary evidence also suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant of concern, as compared to other strains, such as Delta.
Currently the number of cases appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa. WHO explains that the variant has been detected at faster rates than in previous surges in infection, suggesting it "may have a growth advantage".
The experts have asked countries to enhance surveillance and genome sequencing efforts to better understand the variant.
There are also a number of studies underway and the agency's technical advisory group, known by the acronym TAG-VE, will continue to evaluate this variant. WHO will communicate new findings to Member States and to the public as needed.
Information is still limited:
On Wednesday, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said the information about the now 'Omicron' variant is still limited.
“There are fewer than 100 whole genome sequences that are available, we don’t know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that when you have so many mutations it can have an impact on how the virus behaves”, she said during a Q&A on Twitter.
Dr. Van Kerkhove explained that researchers are currently trying to determine where the mutations are and what they potentially mean for….”
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Reuters
A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain among patients said on Sunday that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home.
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on Nov. 18 she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit "very mild".
Now designated Omicron by the World Health Organization, the variant was detected and announced by South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Nov. 25 from samples taken from a laboratory from Nov. 14 to Nov. 16.
Coetzee said a patient on Nov. 18 reported at her clinic being "extremely fatigued" for two days with body aches and headache.
"Symptoms at that stage was very much related to normal viral infection. And because we haven't seen COVID-19 for the past eight to 10 weeks, we decided to test," she said, adding that…”
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NPR
The U.S. is putting travel restrictions in place in response to a new variant of the coronavirus circulating in southern Africa. The restrictions, which are set to take effect on Monday, are being implemented out of an abundance of caution, said a senior Biden administration official.
The World Health Organization announced Friday that it deems this strain, B.1.1.529, a variant of concern, and has named it omicron. It's the first new variant of concern since delta.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday night that no cases of omicron have been identified to date in the U.S., but that the agency has surveillance systems in place and it expects the variant will be identified quickly if it emerges in the U.S.
Here's what we know so far about the new variant — and what we don't.
New coronavirus variants crop up all the time. Why are health officials so concerned about this one?
The omicron variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges have been, suggesting it may have advantages over other variants.
The WHO says that the detection of the variant in South Africa coincided with a steep increase in cases there and that its prevalence is increasing in almost all provinces of the country. The variant has caused a particularly sharp rise in cases in the city of Pretoria, where it went from being essentially undetectable several weeks ago to now dominating the outbreak in a major city. Cases have also cropped up in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel during….”
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New York Times
“As the United States and European countries close their borders over fears over the recently detected coronavirus variant, many South Africans say they feel as if they are being “punished” for alerting global health authorities.
Hours after South African scientists announced the existence of a new variant that they said displayed “a big jump in evolution,” Britain banned travelers from southern African nations. Other European nations and the United States quickly followed suit.
“I do apologize that people took a very radical decision,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform and the scientist who announced the new variant on Thursday.
Fresh from a virtual meeting with global health leaders, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s top medical adviser on the coronavirus, Mr. Oliveira told journalists he believed that international solidarity would be in favor of South Africa’s decision to publicize its findings.
The variant, named Omicron by the World Health Organization, was first detected in South Africa and in neighboring Botswana. The government in Botswana announced that…”
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