The respected American scientist said it will take weeks to determine the severity of the variant.
Respected American scientist Anthony Fauci said that although it will take weeks to determine the severity of the omicron variant of covid-19, the first indications indicate that it is not worse than the previous variants and is possibly milder.
Speaking to the AFP, the chief medical adviser to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, pointed out on the seriousness of omicron that “almost certainly not more severe than delta”Although he highlighted that the new variant is“ clearly highly transmissible ”, probably more than the delta, which is currently the dominant one in the world.
“There is some indication that it could even be less severe, because when you look at some of the cohorts that are being followed in South Africa, the ratio between the number of infected and the number of hospitalized appears to be lower than with the delta,” he said.
However, he added that it is important not to overestimate this data because the populations followed were younger and less likely to be hospitalized. “I think it will take a couple of weeks, at least in South Africa,” where the variant was first detected in November, he remarked.
Epidemiological data from around the world also indicate that the chances of reinfection are greater with omicron.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, broke down knowledge and unknowns about omicron into three areas: transmissibility, how well it evades immunity from previous infections and vaccines, and the severity of the disease.
According to Fauci, the results of laboratory experiments on the vaccine antibody potency current against omicron should arrive from “the next days to a week.”
“As we have more infections in the rest of the world, it could take us longer to determine their level of severity,” he said.
Fauci said that a virus more transmissible than does not cause more serious diseases and it does not generate more deaths and hospitalizations is “the best scenario”.
“The worst case scenario is the one where the virus is not only highly communicable, but it also causes serious illness and then you have another wave of infections that are not necessarily mitigated by the vaccine or by previous infections of people,” he added. .
“I don’t think the worst-case scenario will take place, but you never know,” he said. (I)
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