First case of Omicron coronavirus variant identified in the U.S. – STAT

https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/01/first-case-omicron-coronavirus-variant-identified-united-states/?utm_source=STAT+Newsletters&utm_campaign=b8ddd155d1-breaking_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-b8ddd155d1-152792230

AC

Andrew Chuma, MD
doctorchuma.com
“Eat well, Move more, Love more & Stress less” Dean Ornish, MD
“Do the best you can, until you know better. Then when you know better, do better” Maya Angelou

The most surprising thing to me about this new variant, Omicron (B1.1.529), is not that it developed but that the world’s reaction almost seems like one of surprise, and certainly, panic.

Travel bans, lockdowns, a palpable increase in anxiety… 

I had a recent discussion with someone about this pandemic and a comment was made about why such an event was not anticipated. The fact is that such an event WAS predicted decades ago. Such events have occured in smaller numbers and localized areas. And, of course there was the plague in the 1300s and the Spanish flu in 1918, both of which killed upwards of 50 million people. How stupid are we to allow this to happen again? 

And we are lucky that an even more lethal SARS-Cov-2 virus variant has not surfaced yet. Imagine the combination of Ebola’s lethality (as high as 90%) and SARS-Cov-2 degree of contagiousness. SARS has a much lower death rate (2-3%), but because of that, along with its contagiousness, it spreads more and overall kills more people. Ebola has killed fewer than 20,000 people in total. SARS-Cov-2 has killed over 5 million worldwide and 800,000 in the US as of today. And it is not even close to being finished with us. As epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota Dr. Osterholm puts it, this pandemic fire has a lot of human “wood” to burn through. Vaccines are amazing. They are not perfect but they work and they are the best means we have to slow this disease down, preventing the development of an even more impactful variant. But the majority of the world is not vaccinated. The virus is spreading and replicating  without any resistance. The way we travel and import/export products, worldwide spread is almost instantaneous. And if we don’t get our crap together, we are destined to keep repeating these cycles of outbreaks, lockdowns and misery.

OMICRON. What we know so far is that it developed in South Africa and was first identified and sequenced on November 11th, 2021. But it has now been identified in every sub-Saharan country and in over 17 non-African countries, including many European countries as well as Canada. No cases have yet been identified in the US, but as I have posted previously, our lack of willingness to test, do genomic testing and contact trace is pathetic. 

It is without question in the US. We just have not tested for it and identified it yet.

Omicron contains over 50 different new mutations compared with the original, wild type virus. In comparison, Delta had 17 new mutations and Alpha contained 23. When it comes to the spike protein, the part which attaches to the human ACE-2 receptor, Omicron has 32 mutations whereas Delta and Alpha contain 7 and 9 mutations respectively. At the tip of the spike protein is what is called the Receptor Binding Domain (RPD), the actual part which connects to the ACE-2 receptor (think of it kind of like the spike protein is the part of the space shuttle which connects to the space station whereas the RPD is the part which opens the door into the space station). Again, with Omicron, there are many more new mutations. 10 for Omicron, 2 for Delta and 1 for alpha.

Although all these mutations sound ominously alarming, remember that not all mutations are bad. In fact the vast majority are not. The average infected human is host to as many as 1 trillion copies of the virus, all dividing and mutating rapidly. Most mutations either do nothing, or actually lead to viral death. But sometimes, they give the virus a leg up, increasing its ability to attach better to its receptor, evade our immune system or the antibodies generated by the vaccine or they result in more severe disease. OR, all of the above.

We think it is more transmissible than as it seems to be taking over from the Delta variant  as the dominant strain in S. Africa, but how much more transmissible is not clear. In addition, only 24% of the S. African population is vaccinated, so any version of this virus will spread readily. 

It seems to be causing less severe disease, impacting mostly on younger, unvaccinated people but it is still early.

How much protection vaccination or previous infection provides is also not clear but again it appears that both provide some degree of protection when it comes to the degree of disease (hospitalization and death rates).

But again, all of these issues are still not very clear since it is early in this variant’s appearance. Much more information will be forthcoming in the next week or 2, as cases rise, people recover, or sadly, do not.

In the meantime, it is imperative to keep doing all the things we know make a big difference:

1. VACCINATE. They are amazing, but not perfect. They prevent most disease, or diminish its severity. They are overall safe. GET YOUR BOOSTER. The degree of rise in immune protection is significant.
2. WEAR A MASK. They are also not perfect, but they work. The more risky the environment you are entering into, the better your mask should be. Travel with an N95, or KN95.
3. DISTANCE.
4. VENTILATE.
5. PRACTICE PROPER HYGIENE.
6. GET HEALTHY. Eat better. Exercise. Drink less. Sleep more and better. Stress less. Love more.

We live in stressful times, but we have each other and there is always something to be grateful for.

Stay Safe and be well.

AC