Omicron Update (12/9/21)

Omicron Update (12/9/21)

As of 2 days ago, 54 countries around the world have documented Omicron cases, 17 of which had cases where there was no identifiable international travel or contacts. In the US, 25 states have confirmed cases. Chances are that it’s everywhere, we just have not tested for it.

We need another 2 weeks or so to be able to make more definitive statements about this variant however, as we continue to gather information from around the globe about Omicron spread, a few things are becoming clearer.

1. Transmissibility. This variant appears to be about 4x more transmissible than Delta, which was already 5x more transmissible than the original version of this virus. In S. Africa, the 2 week total case average increased by 1700%. In adjacent countries, the 2 week case rate went up as much as 6000%. It’s doubling time appears to be about 3-4 days.
   
2. Disease severity. Given the large case clusters we have seen so far, it appears that although this is a much more transmissible disease, the degree of disease severity it causes appears to be more mild. HOWEVER, there are caveats. Those who did have more significant disease were mostly unvaccinated (about 75%), older and had other chronic diseases. Most of the infected are younger adults, but the average age in S. Africa is almost a decade younger than in the US so this fact needs to be taken in context.
   
3. Immune Evasion. There have been a few cases of Omicron infection in vaccinated people who had negligible interaction. It appears that vaccination provides protection against it, but to a lesser degree than it does for Delta or other versions of this virus.

So what do we do? Well, although Omicron is on the rise, Delta is still the dominant strain everywhere. Continue to do what we know works against it.

VACCINATE, and get the BOOSTER. A recent study showed that the risk of death from Covid was lowered by over 90% in boosted people. This is in addition to the over 90% protection vaccination already provided.

MASK, MASK, MASK. Some public places look like there is nothing going on. It is crazy.

DISTANCE and VENTILATE.

HYGIENE.

GET HEALTHY, both physically and mentally.

Stay safe and be well.

AC

In a mouse study, a team led by a biomedical scientist found a phthalate — a chemical used to make plastics more durable — led to increased plasma cholesterol levels.
— Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211201085157.htm