U.S. Health officials said Sunday that even though the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the United States, early indications say that it is less deadly than Delta. Delta continues to be the reason for the majority of hospitalizations. Research still needs to be done but early reports from South Africa, where the variant originated, show that even through infections are spreading fast, hospitalizations are not increasing at an alarming rate.
“Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it, but we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness, comparable to delta.”
Dr. Fauci, President Bidens Chief Medical Advisor
As of Sunday the Omicron variant has been detected in about a third of the United States. A number of countries including the U.S. have instituted travel bans to some Africans countries although these may be lifted in the coming days.
Even though medical experts early research shows that Omicron may be less serious, there is still reason for some worry. Researchers in South Africa reported that the variant appears to be spreading more than twice as quickly as Delta. Still, nearly all severe cases of the virus are seen in people who are not fully vaccinated. There is no evidence thus far that suggests that the vaccine is not effective in combating the Omicron variant. Vaccine makers have also expressed confidence that they can tweak existing vaccines to be more effective against new variants if needed.
Initially researchers were particularly worried about this variant because of the 30 mutations in the spike protein, a component on the surface of the virus that allows it to bind to human cells and gain entry into the body. Having this many mutations could mean the this variant would be able to evade the antibodies produced by vaccines although, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Ultimately this variant, while very infectious, is not something to panic over. Research regarding Omicron is still in it’s early stages and the coming weeks will give us more information about it’s implications around the world. Even while some countries in Europe have reinstituted lockdowns, researchers have remained optimistic that Omicron will not have a drastic impact on hospitalizations.
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