The good news about the Covid-19 variant of Omicron has been revealed again. This time it came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (US) aka the CDC.
The US health agency said that the majority of patients infected with the latest Covid-19 variant had only "mild symptoms". CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky, said this was found from 40 Omicron infections that had entered Uncle Sam's country.
"The illness was mild in almost all cases seen so far, with symptoms reported mainly coughing and fatigue," he said in an interview with the Associated Press (AP). "One person was hospitalized, but no deaths were reported."
Walensky added that although the infection of the variant looks very mild, it is still researching and collecting further data on this variant. One of the things the agency is trying to figure out is the vaccine's ability to fight Omicron infections.
"We want to make sure that we increase everyone's immunity. And that's what motivated the decision to expand our guidance," he added.
Previously WHO also confirmed that Omicron causes more severe disease than the Delta Variant. The UN agency also urges unvaccinated world citizens to receive the vaccine in order to provide additional protection and immunity from this variant.
"We have a very effective vaccine that has been shown to be effective against all variants so far, in terms of severe disease and hospitalization, and there is no reason to hope that it won't happen for Omicron," said WHO Emergencies Director Michael Ryan.
The Omicron variant itself has been included as a 'variant of concern' by WHO. The variant was initially widespread in Botswana and South Africa. Until now, WHO is still conducting further research on the virus, especially regarding the ability of the virus to fight the immune system made by ordinary Covid-19 vaccines. Furthermore, Omicron has been detected in more than 50 countries, some of which are Indonesia's neighbors such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and India.
WHO also brings 'Relief' News about Covid Omicron
The World Health Organization (WHO) admits that it has not found any deaths due to infection with the new variant of Covid-19, Omicron. This was conveyed directly at a press conference in Geneva, Sunday (5/12/2021). WHO said it was gathering evidence on the severity of infection caused by the variant with 32 mutations in its spike protein. So far the symptoms have been reported to be very mild.
"I have not seen any reports of deaths related to Omicron," said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier.
"We are gathering all the evidence and we will find more evidence as time goes on."
"More countries ... continue to test people, and look specifically at Omicron variants, we'll also find more cases, more information and, hopefully not, but also possible deaths."
WHO also revealed that one of the paths that need to be taken by world countries is to accelerate vaccination. In addition, the global health agency requested that the world's citizens continue to adhere to the health protocols that have been previously determined.
"We should not rely solely on border measures. The most important thing is to prepare for this variant with a high transmission potential. So far the available information indicates that we do not need to change our approach," said Takeshi Kasai, WHO Pacific Director.
Not only that, citing the Straits Times, a group of Hong Kong scientists have succeeded in isolating the Omicron variant for medical samples. This is useful for further research to determine the exact immune response to this virus.
In an official statement from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the isolation of this virus is the first in Asia. The research team is currently expanding their observations of the virus to assess its transmissibility, immune evasion capabilities, and guess at its pathogenicity.
"We recognized the serious threat of the variant and acted immediately," Professor Kwok-yung Yuen, chair of Infectious Diseases, who is leading the research effort, said in a statement.
"Isolating the variance is the first step in the urgent study of variance."
Further good news also came from Australia. The country's chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said that until now Omicron infections had all occurred with mild and non-lethal symptoms.
"Of the more than 300 cases that have now been diagnosed in many countries, all are very mild or, in fact, have no symptoms at all," Professor Kelly said.
Previously, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that his company is optimistic that the pill for the treatment of Covid-19 that the company is currently developing is able to fight Omicron Variant infection. This claim is not without reason. Bourla said the drug, named Paxlovid, was developed with several possible viral mutations.
"So that gives me a very high level of confidence that the treatment will not be affected, our oral medication will not be affected by this virus," he said.
WHO itself includes Omicron as a "variant of concern" or VOC (alarming variant). Omicron is reported to have more strains or mutations than the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants and is considered highly infectious. Omicron was initially reported in South Africa and Botswana. Currently, the variant has been reported in several countries such as Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal and Hong Kong.
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