Omicron's super high contagiousness makes all countries ready.
From November 30, 20 countries around the world have reported confirmed cases of the new coronavirus mutant virus Omicron (Omicron). According to Israeli media, Omicron is 1.3 times more contagious than Delta; while unvaccinated people have a 2.4 times more likely to become severe after being infected with Omicron. So, can COVID-19 vaccine effectively prevent Omicron?
November 30, South Korea announced the first confirmed case of Omicron. A couple went to Nigeria from November 14 to 23. After returning to China to enter the country, they were diagnosed with Omicron on the 25th. Both of them received two doses of Moderna vaccine. At present, the couple's son and a friend have also been diagnosed, and relevant South Korean departments are conducting genetic sequencing of the couple and the people they have been in contact with.
From November 30, there were 4 confirmed cases of Omicron in Israel.
2 of them were Israeli doctors, both of whom received 3 doses of BNT vaccine. One of them was diagnosed when he returned to Israel at a meeting from London in late November, and the other doctor was likely to be infected by his colleagues. Currently, the symptoms of both are mild. One of the other two Omicron infected is an Malawi tourist who had received the Astertellainica (AZ) vaccine.
In order to curb the spread of Omicron, Israel began to close its border for 14 days from November 27 to ban foreigners from entering the country. Israel hopes that scientists can learn more about Omicron during these 14 days, and also hope to understand the effectiveness of vaccines on Omicron. At present, about 57% of Israel's 9.4 million population have been fully vaccinated.
The sudden appearance of Omicron caught people off guard. CEO Moderna said on November 30 that Omicron would reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, which triggered market panic. It is reported that due to this, the global price of commodity has fallen.
However, at the same time, Israeli Health Minister Horowitz emphasized at a press conference that the vaccine is effective for Omicron. He said, "Signs show that people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine in full within 6 months, or those who have been chasing the enhanced injection, also have high protection against this variant." He added: "Vaccines are really important now. Anyone who has not received the vaccine will put himself in unnecessary risks when exposed to this mutant strain."
On November 30, Israel Channel 12 TV reported that the Pfizer vaccine has a protective power of 90% to prevent people from infected with Omicron, and a protective power against Delta is 95%, and its protective power is slightly lower than that against Delta. For those who have received the third dose of enhanced injection, the protection of avoiding severe illness is 93%.
In addition, according to the latest hospitalization data released by South Africa, the number of hospitalizations in Gauteng in the epidemic center has increased by 4 times since the beginning of November, from 120 at the beginning of the month to 580. However, nearly 90% of the patients have not been vaccinated.
In Tswani, a hot epidemic zone in Gauteng Province, as many as 87% of hospitalized patients have not been vaccinated, and 13% have been vaccinated.
Currently, most patients in South Africa are young people aged 20 to 30. The symptoms of this group are usually mild, but if they are elderly, the symptoms are more serious.
So, experts said that it seems that the vaccine is still effective at present, and people who have not been vaccinated will be vaccinated as soon as possible. (Frog in Inoue)
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