Original title: Xinhua All Media+|OmickronRe-judgment: Is the toxicity weakened? Is the vaccine still effective?
challenge Omickron! At 24:00 on the 8th, two new local cases in Tianjin were confirmed to be infected with the Omickron mutant strain. Starting from 7:00 on the 9th, Tianjin launched nucleic acid test for all employees. On the 10th, Anyang City, Henan Province confirmed that the two cases previously discovered in the local area were infected with the Omickron mutant strain, which belongs to the same transmission chain as the Tianjin epidemic.
As Omickron becomes the main epidemic strain in some countries, the pressure on my country to "prevent imported cases from abroad" continues to increase. While Omickron is spreading rapidly around the world, has the toxicity weakened? Is the existing vaccine still effective? How to better carry out precise prevention and control in the future? The reporter sorted out this.
htmlOn January 9, at a nucleic acid testing site in Tianjin Binhai High-tech Zone, staff were taking nucleic acid samples for the masses. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Zishuo . Has the toxicity of the virus weakened? More studies are still needed to prove that
has many studies from different regions around the world. It shows that the Omickron variant has the characteristics of fast transmission speed and strong occultness, but the symptoms of pneumonia caused are relatively mild.
A joint study by several Japanese and American scientists showed that compared with previous strains, hamsters and mice suffered less lung damage after infection with Omickron, and the chance of death was also reduced.
After studying lung tissue samples of patients with COVID-19, scientists in Hong Kong in my country found that Omickron "growth" in these samples was slower than other strains.
WHO Corruption epidemic response official Abdi Mahmoud said on the 4th that more and more studies have shown that the Omickron strain caused upper respiratory tract infection , which is different from other strains that cause severe pneumonia. "But we still need more research to prove it," the official added.
Although data have shown that the symptoms of Omickron infection cases are generally mild, considering factors such as large-scale vaccination and the large number of young people in some infected areas, it is not possible to fully draw the conclusion that the virus toxicity is weakened.
The United States added on the 3rd to the number of new confirmed cases of new crown , setting a new record for the number of new confirmed cases per day. Researchers pointed out that even if Omickron's toxicity is weakened, the spread is enhanced, and if cases continue to surge, the number of hospitalizations and deaths will continue to rise.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Adhanom Adhanom html publicly stated on the 46th that although Omickron has a lower risk of causing severe illness than delta, this does not mean that it should be classified as "moderate".
Director of the National Infectious Disease Medical Center and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases Department of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University Zhang Wenhong said that the Omickron mutant strain currently shows different characteristics in different countries, and the view that Omickron is a "large flu" has no scientific basis at present. How effective is the
vaccine? The latest research believes that severe cases can be avoided at least. Data released by the WHO on the 6th showed that among the severe cases of COVID-19 worldwide, 90% of patients have not received the new crown vaccine . At the same time, more and more studies have found that among the vaccinated population, Omickron's risk of severe illness appears to be lower.
interviewed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention experts said that Omickron carries a large number of spike protein mutations, which may lead to an enhanced immunity to evade vaccines. However, some studies have found that people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine or have been infected with the COVID-19 in the past six months still have more T cells and in their bodies to form a second line of defense, which can block Omickron and protect the human body from severe illness.
The above experts said that studies show that after the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is intensified, the titer of the antibody rose rapidly and maintained at a higher level, which helps to better prevent mutant strains. Compared with other strains, Omickron has a greater discount on the vaccine effect, so it is especially necessary to get a booster injection.
Zhang Wenhong believes that the reason why some countries "hardly break through" this wave of epidemic and the mortality rate is controlled at a low level is mainly due to the high COVID-19 vaccination rate. The role of vaccines in the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic cannot be underestimated.
On October 5, 2021, a worker packs locally filled Sinovac vaccines in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhu Wei
What is the future trend of the epidemic? Adhere to the principle of "preventing imports from outside and preventing rebound from inside"
National Health Commission organized experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to judge that my country's "preventing imports from outside and preventing rebound from inside" prevention and control strategy is still effective for Omickron.
When dealing with imported Delta from abroad, many provinces in my country effectively controlled the epidemic within an incubation period of about one incubation period. During this process, a lot of prevention and control experiences were summarized, including improving the ability to prevent and detect epidemics and early detection, further giving full play to the role of epidemiological investigation and supervision teams, etc., which can also be used to "deal with" Omickron.
Experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that wearing masks is still an effective way to block the spread of the virus, and it is also applicable to Omickron. In addition, you must wash your hands frequently, ventilate indoors, and monitor your personal health.
Traditional medicine is also taking active actions. On the 9th, The First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine distributed more than 7,000 bags of carefully cooked preventive decoctions to front-line staff and close-knot quarantine personnel as soon as possible.
Omickron is coming, and Academician Zhang Boli and other relevant experts are connected to the local childhood case diagnosis and treatment team and the imported case diagnosis and treatment teams in Europe, America, Africa, etc., and found that compared with previous patients, patients with Omickron mutant strains of new coronary pneumonia showed obvious signs of exogenous wind-cold in the early stage, showing lung heat symptoms in the middle stage, accompanied by Qi and Yin deficiency .
Zhang Boli said that it is necessary to revise the traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment plan and rehabilitation plan, combine seasonal factors and the physical characteristics of children, give full play to the advantages of combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and give the best medical care for patients, especially children.
"Adhere to the people first and life first is the fundamental starting point and end point of all our prevention and control measures." A relevant person in charge of the National Health Commission emphasized that as long as we firmly implement the overall strategy of "preventing imports from outside and preventing rebound from inside", the general policy of " dynamic zeroing ", and implementing various prevention and control measures in detail, we will definitely be able to control the epidemic as soon as possible.
Reporter: Dong Ruifeng, Xu Penghang
Source: Xinhua News Agency
