(PolitiFact)
Americans, already weary of a nearly two-years-long pandemic, were dealt a new blow during the long Thanksgiving weekend with the announcement that a new coronavirus variant had emerged.
The omicron variant, officially known as B.1.1.529, first surfaced in November in several southern African nations. The new variant set off alarm bells worldwide when public health officials in South Africa saw it beginning to outcompete the previous reigning variant, delta. This suggested that omicron could eventually spread widely. Indeed, omicron has since been reported on multiple continents, likely due to international travel by people who were unknowingly infected.
After the emergence of omicron was announced, several nations imposed travel bans in an effort to contain the virus. But its unclear how effective those bans will be in slowing the spread. Travel bans dont help once the horse is already out of the barn, as weve seen before and are seeing now, said Tara Smith, a Kent State University epidemiologist.
Scientists caution that its still too early to say whether omicron will prove to be as dangerous as delta. Other variants that initially seemed worrisome have flamed out.
For now, heres what we know, and dont know, about the omicron variant.
What is a variant?
A variant of a virus is one that has mutated in a way that bolsters its spread or severity compared with the original strain that emerged in Wuhan, China. RNA viruses like the coronavirus can mutate when they replicate, especially when circulating at high rates, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco.
Coronavirusesdo not mutate as readilyas influenza viruses do, but they do mutate over time. The different variants generally produce the same range of symptoms as the original strain of the coronavirus. But the mutations may help the virus spread more effectively from person to person, or have an advantage in sneaking past either natural or vaccine immunity.
What variants were already circulating in the United States?
To date, public health officialshave notedfive variants of concern, plus two other variants of interest that are not yet considered as worrisome as the variants of concern. Theres also the most worrisome of the three official categories variants of high consequence but no variants of this type have emerged so far.
The World Health Organization decided earlier this year to to name the variants after Greek letters, both to simplify discussion and to limit the stigma from having a variant named for a country.
The first four variants of concern alpha, beta, gamma, and delta have been circulating in the United States for most of this year. But for much of 2021, the most dominant variant has been delta, due to its ability to spread from person to person more quickly than other variants. For months, delta hasaccounted formore than 99% of coronavirus infections in the U.S.
There were no confirmed cases of omicron in the United States as of mid-day Nov. 29, but experts say its just a matter of time. It could be in the U.S. already, though as yet undetected.
How did omicron emerge?
Scientists arent sure precisely where omicron first surfaced, but it was most likely in southern Africa, where it was first detected.
Experts say that low vaccination rates in that part of the world probably played a role in creating a favorable environment for the mutations that produced omicron. (It can bepronouncedeither AH-mi-crahn or OH-mi-crahn.)
Many countries in Africa have populations with very low immunity about 30% in South Africa are vaccinated, Smith said. In a largely non-immune population, the virus can sweep through, and each new person infected is a chance for the virus to mutate.
Why did public health officials react so urgently to omicron?
The concern stems from the scope and nature of the mutations on the new variant. South African health officials noted 50 notable mutations, 30 of which are on the spike protein, a key structure in the virus,New York magazine reported. Thats more than previous variants have had.
If we were looking out for mutations that do affect transmissibility, its got all of them, University of Oxford evolutionary biologistAris Katzourakis told Science magazine.
Still, whats uncertain at this point is how effectively those mutations will work together in creating a variant that can consistently outcompete delta.
What do we know about omicrons degree of infectiousness?
The omicron variant is so new that scientists are just beginning to learn about its characteristics. Because of this, experts urge caution in drawing conclusions, especially from anecdotal evidence.
That said, scientists say they would not be shocked if omicron becomes as easily transmissible as delta.
The answer is uncertain, of course, but it looks as though it will be at least as infectious as delta, said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
One complicating factor, Schaffner said, is that the initial areas of fastest spread have been in areas of Johannesburg populated by young adults and college students, who tend to have lower vaccination rates. The vulnerability of these groups to infection may be exaggerating how rapidly omicron seems to be spreading.
What do we know about whether omicron makes patients sicker?
The early evidence is somewhat conflicting, but there are signs that symptoms from omicron may not be more severe than previous variants. Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, has said that the early cases being seen among theunvaccinated are mild.
It remains to be seen, however, whether older and unhealthier patients will also see milder symptoms. Another caveat is that it may be too early in omicrons spread to see cases that have progressed to a more serious point.
What do we know about whether existing vaccines will be effective against the omicron variant?
Scientists are cautiously optimistic that existing vaccines will also be effective against omicron, just as they have been against delta, at least in being able to prevent illness severe enough to require hospitalization.
Scientists in South Africa and Israel, where the variant has also been detected, have indicated thatthey are not seeing severe disease among the vaccinated, Gandhi said.
Gandhi added that the immunity-providing B-cells produced by the vaccineshave been shown to produce antibodies against variants, and that T-cell immunity, which protects against severe disease,is robustand should not be at risk from the mutations being seen in omicron. The vaccines also producepolyclonal antibodiesthat work against multiple parts of the spike protein, she said. Finally, booster shots now being administered have been shown to be effective in strengthening immunity quickly.
Most scientists believe we should still have protection against severe disease with vaccinations, and vaccination remains the mainstay of control, Gandhi said.
Bottom line: If you havent been vaccinated, and especially if you havent had the disease yet, get vaccinated. And if youve already been vaccinated, get a booster.
How long will it be before we have a better handle on the threat from omicron?
Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson areall testing the effectiveness of their existing vaccines against omicronin the lab, based on variant-analysis protocols developed early in 2021. Those results should be available in the next week or two.
Some of the other questions including whether omicron makes you sicker, and whether its more transmissible will take longer to answer because they require careful contact tracing and accurate diagnoses of those infected.
To better answer those questions, Smith said, I think at a minimum, it will take a month to get some preliminary data, and quite possibly longer to really know the fuller picture. We also wont know about real-world experience in vaccine breakthroughs until that time.
Can we expect a specific new booster to be developed for omicron?
Its not at all certain that the omicron variant will require a reformulated booster. A newly formulated booster wasnt necessary for delta, because researchers determined that the existing formulation was still effective.
That said, vaccine makers can jump in with a new booster quickly if they have to.
In the event that vaccine-escape variant emerges, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval, a Pfizer spokespersontold the Washington Post.
Dr. Matthew Laurens, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said hes confident boosters could be developed and tested quickly if needed, likely within a few months.
What happened to the other variants?
Between May 2021, when delta was named a variant of concern, and November 2021, when omicron was given the same label, two other variants were elevated to the lower variant of interest status: lambda from Peru and mu from Colombia. Other variants, such as one discovered in Nepal called delta-plus, attracted notice during that period as well. But none of these managed to outcompete delta in a consistent way, so they were never elevated to variant of concern.
This is the most hopeful outcome for omicron. The other variants all had similar concerns around them, but they didnt expand to any significant degree after the initial reporting, Gandhi said.
Is it reasonable to think the U.S. is in a better position to handle omicron than it was for delta?
Experts generally agreed that the United States should be better prepared to battle omicron than it was when delta emerged earlier this year.
We are in a much better position, since we have higher rates of vaccination, the availability of boosters for everyone over 18, and vaccine eligibility down to 5 years old, Gandhi said. We also have higher rates of natural immunity in this country due to the delta variants spread since July 2021. And we haveoral antiviral therapeuticson the horizon. So we have the tools to fight this new variant.
The challenge, Schaffner said, will be to make sure that Americans continue to get vaccinated and boosted, and to make use of testing and maintain safe behavior in public.
All these tools are available, he said. The big question is how inclined the general public is to use these tools.
Is the coronavirus going to be around permanently, like the flu?
Experts now believe its unlikely that the coronavirus will either be eradicated from the globe, like smallpox has been, or even eliminated in the United States, as polio was following near-universal vaccination. The combination of rapid mutations and too-low vaccination rates make it likely that COVID-19 wont follow smallpox and polio into submission.
This will more likely be the influenza model, where we have to track mutations annually and alter the boosters accordingly, Schaffner said. In fact, he said, efforts to create combined coronavirus-flu shots are already under way.
USA Today, Omicron, the newest coronavirus variant: How to pronounce it, how it got its Greek name, and what it means, Nov. 29, 2021
New York magazine, What We Do and Dont Know About the Omicron Variant, Nov. 29, 2021
Washington Post, What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, updated Nov. 29, 2021
The Atlantic, We Know Almost Nothing About the Omicron Variant, Nov. 27, 2021
The Atlantic, The New COVID Drugs Are a Bigger Deal Than People Realize, Nov. 29, 2021
Reuters, Explainer: How worried should we be about the Omicron variant? Nov. 27, 2021
Science magazine, Patience is crucial: Why we wont know for weeks how dangerous Omicron is, Nov. 27, 2021
Science magazine,mRNA vaccines induce durable immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern, Oct. 14, 2021
Cell Host & Microbe, SARS-CoV-2 human T cell epitopes: Adaptive immune response against COVID-19, July 14, 2021
Immunity, A vaccine-induced public antibody protects against SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants, Sept. 14, 2021
The Telegraph, South African doctor who raised alarm about omicron variant says symptoms are unusual but mild, Nov. 27, 2021
Times of Israel, S. African expert downplays threat from Omicron: We wont have a severe epidemic, Nov. 26, 2021
PolitiFact, The coronavirus variants: What you need to know, July 7, 2021
Email interview with Matthew Laurens, pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Nov. 29, 2021
Email interview with Tara Smith, Kent State University epidemiologist. Nov. 29, 2021
Email interview with Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, Nov. 29, 2021
Interview with William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nov. 29, 2021
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