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Two good news about Omicron celebrating the New Year: it may not last long, and as long as they have a healthy immune system, fully vaccinated people don’t have to worry.
Omicron is so contagious that medical professionals say it is unlikely that its peak will last long.
It has already burned out in South Africa since it was first identified the day before Thanksgiving, and the incident is happening in South Africa. In the week ending December 26, the number of newly diagnosed people decreased by almost 36% from the peak a week ago, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
If the northeastern part of COVID-19, which has been attacked by the Omicron variant over the past two weeks, follows the same pattern, the case rate may decline as soon as mid-January. According to experts, the United States is so large that it can take some time to travel around the country.
This news is even better for those who are vaccinated. There are two Shots are not as protective against Omicron as they are against previous variants. Vaccination and booster immunization appear to make a big difference to people with a healthy immune system.
Three infected people seem to be suffering Dr. Craig Spencer, a doctor in the New York City Emergency Room, had a severe sore throat and had fatigue and muscle aches for several days. Said in a Twitter thread on Monday..
People who receive two injections have slightly worse symptoms.
“More fatigue. More fever. More cough. Overall a little more miserable,” he wrote.
Those who shot only one shot felt even worse and scared for days, he said.
Virtually everyone Spencer, who works at the Presbyterian Church in New York / Columbia University Medical Center, said that people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 were not vaccinated. Anyone. Breathe regularly. “
Doctors at other hospitals confirmed his explanation. Vaccinated people have fewer symptoms and a shorter duration of illness.
The only exception is the immune system Probably weak for medicine and old age.
“People who are particularly vulnerable to immunodeficiency need to be careful,” said Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “This is an important group that is not fully protected despite vaccination.”
According to Gandhi, the number of patients in the general public has more than doubled in the last two weeks, from about 40 to 45 for COVID-19 in delta waves, and now over 100 due to Omicron’s hijacking.The number of hospital calls has skyrocketed, with more than 500 people asking for information. On Christmas weekend, he called it an “unprecedented number.”
Omicron also makes it difficult for people to leave the hospital, Gandhi said. Two of the three monoclonal antibodies routinely given to people at high risk of severe illness no longer work against Omicron, but the third sotrovimab is deficient.
Two antivirals, Paxrovid and Molnupiravir, Approved by the Food and Drug Administration last week, Gandhi said, is much easier to give and can make a big difference in a pandemic. But they aren’t widely available yet and he doesn’t offer anything.
Jeremy Luban, an infectious disease expert at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, believes that omicron is so contagious that it is less dangerous than its predecessor, but still as many. States that may land in the hospital.
Massachusetts infectious disease experts Luban and Jacob Lemie said they attended a meeting with Gandhi and other Massachusetts researchers and reporters. Monday afternoon.
“When we think of ways to move forward, we must keep in mind the reality of these two Omicrons,” Lemieux said. “The pictures aren’t completely dark. With these new drugs … it really suggests that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to go through the tunnel, the tunnel is long and looks dark for the next few weeks. At least. “
By moving so fast and infecting so many people, can Omicron immunize many people and help accelerate the end of the pandemic, preferably in a less serious way?
Unfortunately, that’s probably not the case.
“The idea of a less pathogenic virus that can instill cross-defense immunity without causing long COVIDs would certainly be a godsend,” said MGH, MIT, and Harvard Ragon, which focuses on immunology. Dr. Bruce Walker, the founding director of the institute, said. “I don’t think any of us would be happy to say that Omicron is that. In fact, I think it’s likely not.”
Contribution: Mike Stucka
Please contact Karen Weintraub ([email protected]).
Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY was partially made possible by grants from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
This article was originally published in USA TODAY: Good news for Omicron?It may go soon, poses little threat to vaccination
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