What is the first symptom of Omicron infection?

Many things are still unknown about Omicron, but experts have concluded that there are symptoms that only occur with this new Covid strain.

According to the researchers, the first symptoms of Omicron are different from those of the previous variants, being much more similar to those of a common cold. 89% of those infected with Omicron showed the same initial sign. According to a study done in Great Britain, quoted by Daily Star, the most common symptom in case of Omicron infection is the intense headaches, followed by muscle ones.

Although Omicron has had a moderate illness so far, this variant is much more easily transmitted and there are fears that it could easily avoid the vaccines on the market.

WHO experts do not know at this time, due to the current lack of sufficient data, whether the high rate of spread in populations with high immunity is due to the fact that "Omicron avoids immunity, benefits from inherently higher transmissibility or is a combination the two factors ". Or if the vaccines are not as effective for this strain.

VACCINES MAY BE LESS EFFECTIVE FOR OMICRON STEM

The WHO says "Omicron is likely to cross the Delta in areas where there is community transmission".

Scientific data is not yet sufficient to determine the severity of the disease caused by Omicron, although at the moment the symptoms appear to be "mild and moderate" both in Africa, where this variant was first detected, and in Europe.

With regard to COVID-19 vaccines, the few data available, as well as the genetic profile of the Omicron variant, lead scientists to suspect a "decrease in efficacy" in terms of protection against "infection and transmission" of the virus.

Pfizer and BioNTech, which developed the Comirnaty vaccine, one of the most effective anti-COVID-19 sera to date, gave assurances late last week that their vaccine was "still effective" after three doses of Omicron.

Most high-income countries are already encouraging most of their people to schedule a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. This is especially the case in Europe, which is facing a new wave of infections, caused by the Delta variant, following the premature renunciation of health restrictions, but also vaccination rates that are in some countries insufficient.

A new sub-variant of the coronavirus Omicron raises questions. BA.2 would have already become the majority in Denmark

A new Omicron sub-variant, released a few weeks ago, raises questions and is closely monitored by scientists, according to international news agencies, quoted by Agerpres.

Although the new sub-variant "does not change the details of the problem", according to the French Minister of Health, its exact characteristics, still completely unknown, raise certain questions. Named BA.2, this sub-variant has been detected in several countries around the world, especially in Europe.

"New variants appear with a fairly high regularity. As far as we know, the new sub-variant corresponds more or less to the characteristics we know about Omicron. It does not change the data of the problem at this stage," recalled Olivier Veran, Minister Health in France during a press conference.

Like the Delta variant before it, the Omicron variant, as it spread more and more in the world, generated "smaller brothers", sub-variants that contain one or two mutations in relation to its original genome.

For now, the exact characteristics of the new sub-variant have not been analyzed, but some medical data draw the attention of specialists: BA.2 has already become the majority in Denmark, where the number of daily cases of COVID-19 has started to increase again in recent years. days.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which included Omicron in the "worrisome" category, does not at this stage distinguish between the original Omicron variant and the BA.2 sub-variant.

So far, the new sub-variant has already been detected in France, "but at very low levels". Instead, in Denmark, it gradually replaced BA.1, the "classic" Omicron variant.

"The Danish authorities do not have an explanation for this phenomenon, but they are monitoring it very closely." For their part, experts in France "are closely following the data obtained in Denmark".

The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) announced on Friday (January 21st) that it had included the new Omicron sub-variant in the "variants under investigation" category.