Is it more contagious? Do vaccines protect? What symptoms does it cause? Everything we already know about omicron, the new variant of coronavirus

We face the December bridge with a incidence of 248 cases per 100,000 inhabitantss. Thus, it has risen in all territories, without exception, with Navarra as the region with the highest incidence, above 700 cases. This is followed by the Basque Country, which has recorded the highest rise and is at very high risk. Castilla y León and Aragon, for their part, are at high risk, and in the rest of Spain the risk is medium.

It is precisely a week since omicron set off all the alarms. According to the WHO, there are already at least 38 countries that register cases of the new variant. Although there are still no deaths linked to the new strain, yes it would be more contagious. An example of this is the man infected with the variant who attended an anime fair in New York with 35 friends, of whom half are already positive for COVID-19. Next, we answer all the questions about omicron. In any case, the global recommendation is to continue vaccinating

Is it more transmissible?

As investigations progress, it seems to confirm that it is more transmissible than the original virus. “What we need to check is whether it is more or less transmissible compared to delta,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical leader for coronavirus.

And it is that although the delta variant is still the predominant, omicron is already in 38 countries, and in places like South Africa, the epicenter of the variant, it is spread throughout the country. In this sense, it should be noted that although it affects all age groups, it has been observed greater impact on youth, pregnant women and children.

In United States, An outbreak of contagions worries at the anime fair in New York, which was attended by a person infected with an omicron, after which there are already twenty positives in COVID-19. Meanwhile, in Brazil, with five cases detected, concern has led to the suspension of the traditional New Year’s Eve party in Rio de Janeiro.

What symptoms does it cause?

For now, patients show headache and itchy throat, but there is no loss of taste and smell.

How did it originate?

Scientists try to find out why this variant has many more mutations than others without intermediate variants being found. One of the hypotheses is that these have been circulating undetected, or that omicron has mutated into an immunocompromised infected. Another theory is that originated in an animal.

Do vaccines protect?

Although it will take time to know the impact of omicron, it is known that vaccines protect against serious illness, hospitalization and death. In addition, the usual advice continues to be valid also for this variant: “Mask, hand washing, safety distance and ventilate closed spaces”, as José Martínez Olmos, former Secretary General of Health has pointed out.

In this sense, it should be noted that the booster dose is essentialSince, as Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, has pointed out, “increases antibody levels neutralizers “.