▲ South African scientist studying omicron mutation
Scientists at the African Health Institute in Durban, South Africa, are studying the omicron-mutant virus for COVID-19 on December 15, last year. Scientists expect a dramatic decline in Omicron infections after peaking in the UK, and hope it will soon be the case in the US as well. 2022.1.24.
AP Yonhap News
‘Stealth Omicron’ spread to 49 countries
1.5 times more contagious, but not lethal
“Most severe hospitalizations are delta”
The British Health and Safety Agency (HSA) analyzed that the stealth omicron mutation (BA.2) has a faster rate of increase than the existing omicron mutation.
The Health and Safety Administration announced on the 28th (local time) that 1,072 cases of BA.2 were confirmed in England as of the 24th.
A week ago, there were few cases of stealth omicron mutations in the UK, but they were designated as investigational mutations because they were increasing at home and abroad.
Stealth Omicron Mutation, a sub-variant of Omicron Mutation, has a characteristic that it is difficult to distinguish it from other mutations in the existing PCR (gene amplification) test due to some specific genetic defects.
The Health and Safety Administration said that stealth omicron mutations are increasing at a higher rate than omicron mutations in all parts of England.
Although there are no data on the severity of the stealth Omicron mutation, he emphasized that the initial analysis did not differ from the Omicron mutation in the vaccine’s effectiveness in blocking symptomatic infection.
UK Health and Safety Agency says most severe hospitalizations are delta
According to the Health and Safety Administration, most of the cases of novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) hospitalized in the intensive care unit between November 24 last year and January 19 of this year were cases of delta mutation infection.
As the Omicron mutation became the dominant species, the number of confirmed cases surged, but the fatality of the Omicron mutation was low, so hospitalization did not increase that much.
The number of cases of Omicron mutation infection also increased in nursing homes, but it did not lead to hospitalization.
From next month, the UK government has announced that it will provide Pfizer’s oral drug Paxrovid to thousands of high-risk patients.
Clinical trials have shown that taking this drug within 5 days of onset of symptoms reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by 88%.
▲ A man is being tested for PCR at a COVID-19 mobile testing station in downtown Beijing, China on the 16th. Three weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the city of Beijing conducted a PCR test on 13,000 people who were in emergency after a confirmed case of Omicron mutation was confirmed the day before.
Beijing AP Yonhap News
Stealth Omicron Mutation… 1.5 times more contagious, but not lethal
On the 27th, CNN reported that cases of stealth omicron mutation were reported in 49 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, India and Singapore.
Overseas inflows of stealth omicron mutations have also been reported in Asian regions such as Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
The Danish health authorities estimate that the infectivity of the stealth Omicron mutation is 1.5 times that of the existing Omicron mutation.
There is also an analysis that there is no significant difference in the hospitalization rate between the two mutants. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the stealth Omicron mutation is spreading, but there is no evidence that it is more lethal than the Omicron mutation.
“The two mutations occurred at the same time in the same lineage,” said Theodora Hachioanu, a professor at Rockefeller University in the US, in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The professor further explained, “Compared to the omicron mutation, there is only a slight difference in the spike protein of the stealth omicron mutation.”
Correspondent Kim Chae-hyun
