Omicron variant: lack of vaccination favors the emergence of mutations
The omicron or omicron variant is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 , the virus that causes COVID-19 .
Its lineage B.1.1.529 was reported to the World Health Organization by South Africa on 24 November 2021. [1]
Abdi Mahamudi incident manager at the World Health Organization (WHO), warned that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is not just a common cold .
In addition, he also pointed out that the symptoms caused by the mutation are milder, however, they still require attention due to the high transmission capacity.
However, wherever the Ômicron arrives, it is a matter of weeks before it becomes dominant”, highlighted the scientist.
He cited the example of Denmark, a region where the variant caused a rise in the number of cases in just two days.
According to Mahamudi, studies show that the mutation causes milder symptoms by affecting the upper body, such as sore throat .
“He further stated that unlike the other variants, they can cause severe pneumonia .”
Lack of vaccination favors the emergence of omicron mutations:
The new variant omicron is expected to affect more those who have not had the vaccine, and the mutations happen when a virus proliferates and at the time of replication of the genetic material.
However, errors can occur in the RNA sequence that favor the appearance of a strain that is perhaps more dangerous than the ones previously existing.
In addition, the scientific researcher and deputy director of the Scientific Development Center of the Butantan Institute, Maria Carolina Sabbaga.
She explains that this happens when there is high transmissibility, as occurred at the height of the first and second waves of Covid-19 in Brazil, that is, the virus is infecting many people, variants arise.
“We are in a globalized world and there is no point in vaccinating one part of the world and not vaccinating the other, we are all together.
So if everyone doesn’t get vaccinated, we won’t solve this pandemic.
It’s the same thing as vaccinating only São Paulo and not vaccinating the surroundings, so variants start arriving from other places”, she explains. [two]
Omicron variant spreads more easily:
The Omicron variant spreads more easily than the Sars-CoV-2 virus that originated in Wuhan, China.
Furthermore, the ease with which this variant spreads, compared to Delta, is currently unknown, but one needs to be alert to reports that a person with Omicron infection.
Does the omicron variant cause more serious complications?
Not much is known of the complications caused by the omicron variant , further research is needed. [3]