The Omicron Option COVID-19 It has spread around the world at a rapid pace since it was first discovered in South Africa in November, but there is still a lot we do not know about it.
More data are needed to determine its exact characteristics and How does it respond to our existing coronavirus vaccines? But what seems unmistakable is that it is more contagious than any previous strain we have encountered so far during the pandemic, including the alpha and delta variants.
Omicron has been reported in at least 110 countries to date, with the Netherlands, Germany and South Korea re-imposing blocking measures to slow its spread.
The United Kingdom continues to have extremely high levels of Covid infections during the holiday season, with the total number of daily cases in England reaching 218,724 on January 4. According to the UK Health Insurance Agency.
One aspect of the Omicron variant that has become apparent in the last few weeks is how it differs from the original Covid strain.
Although World Health Organization It is estimated that the symptoms took two to two weeks to materialize in people infected with the first corovirus strain, it is believed that the Omicron variant incubates faster, from three to five days.
“A recent analysis by the UK Health and Safety Agency suggests that the window between infection and infection may be shorter for the Omicron variant than for the Delta variant,” said the UK’s health secretary. Sajid Javid He told the deputies about it on December 6.
This explains why it has spread so quickly and successfully, as the short period of its incubation period gives victims a short interval between the suspicion and exacerbation of virus infection, which reduces the positive test result. It is time to warn others, to isolate yourself, and to avoid infection.
The short incubation period “makes it much, much, much harder to control the virus,” said Jennifer Nuzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Safety. Warned Atlantic recently.
Another characteristic of Omicron that potentially complicates its detection compared to other strains is that it The symptoms are somewhat different from the three main indicators We learned caution: coughing, fever, and loss of taste or smell.
Early warning signs of the new variant, in contrast, include sore throat, low back pain, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and fatigue, wheezing and night sweats.
The current evidence for Omicron cases analyzed in the UK is that patients recover on average in five days to a week, although some symptoms, such as coughing and fatigue, can last a long time.
Shortness of breath was also observed in more severe cases that lasted for 13 days.
People with covidium usually think they are infectious to others two days before and about 10 days after the first symptoms appear.
If you think you have symptoms of the Omicron or still dominant Delta variant, Current advice from the NHS Is to conduct a PCR test as soon as possible and self-isolate at home to protect others.
Our best hope now against Omicron is to jointly take advantage of the Vaccine Booster offer, which has now been extended to all adults in the UK, as studies have shown that Three shots are likely to provide much greater immunity Against a new strain that is only two.
But, as Mr Javid told the BBC in the final Andrew Marie ShowAre, are present “No guarantee in this pandemic”So the public is also advised to abide by the current restrictions, including wearing a mask in a public space, to give up unnecessary social commitments this winter, and to exercise extreme caution.
