Total Antibodies Rapid Test: Omicron may rule the world - part 1

Omicron, who has been raging around the world for more than a month, is already in sight.

Alpha, Delta... the newly emerging focal strain of Omicron is coming violently, causing another peak of infection in many countries.

WHO data shows that as of December 22, the Omicron strain has spread to 110 countries and regions around the world. In the United Kingdom, the United States and other places, this strain has replaced the Delta strain as the main local epidemic strain. With the increase of relevant data, people's understanding of Omicron strain is also deepening.

In the future, the words Omicron will appear more and more in our vision, and we need to understand Omicron. Unlike being completely ignorant when you first met your opponent, the current research data has been initially accumulated, which is convenient for a closer look.

We have prepared ten high-frequency questions about Omicron, which will be summarized and answered in this article.

01 What is Omicron?

Omicron is the 13th new coronavirus variant specially named by the WHO, and because of more unique variants, it is listed as a "mutant strain that needs attention."

02 How strong is Omicron's communication ability? Is it the most spreading strain at the moment?

Omicron has a strong ability to spread, and it is predicted that it may eventually affect the world together with the Delta strain.

The many variations of Omicron did make some changes to it. The first thing that was noticed was the increase in communication capabilities.

Based on existing data calculations, Omicron is easier to spread than Delta. The probability of infection inside the home is 3.2 times that of Delta, and the probability of infection outside the home is twice that of Delta.

The growth rate of Omicron infection in the United Kingdom was not achieved by any previously mutated strain.

Based on the available preliminary data, virologist Trevor Bedford predicts that after a series of interventions, the future world may be where the Delta and Omicron strains will play the leading role.

03 Will Omicron affect the effectiveness of the new crown vaccine?

The neutralizing antibodies produced by the existing new crown vaccine against Omicron have decreased significantly, and the effect of the original vaccination method has been greatly reduced.

Whether Omicron will spread widely depends largely on its ability to spread, but in many countries in the world, there are already high vaccination rates. The ability of the existing new crown vaccine to protect Omicron or the immune escape ability of Omicron also determines whether the virus can eventually spread widely.

Unfortunately, from the current laboratory data, Omicron has a stronger immune escape ability than Delta, and can better surpass vaccine protection.

The research conclusions of Germany, South Africa, Sweden, and Pfizer Laboratories are similar.

Compared with the original strain, the neutralizing antibodies that Pfizer vaccine can produce when facing Omicron are much lower, ranging from about 5 to 40 times.

Of course, the actual protection effect is not as exaggerated as the laboratory figures. The laboratory only measured antibody-related indicators. If Omicron really gets inside the body, there are second lines of defense such as B cells and T cells that can provide defense and prevent severe illness.

In addition, it is very important that the booster vaccines currently in use have also shown stronger antibody levels in trials. If an exclusive vaccine can be quickly developed against the Omicron mutation, the protective effect can also be more stable.

Although Omicron is strong, we have also become stronger.

04 Will there be any new symptoms after being infected with Omicron?

After Omicron infects the human body, the symptoms are probably not significantly different from the previous strains, and the main symptoms are conventional mild infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the symptoms of 43 patients diagnosed with Omicron infection in the United States. Common symptoms are: cough, fatigue, nasal congestion or runny nose.

However, there are also a small number of preliminary data that suggest differences.

For example, a report from Germany said: After Omicron infects a child, the symptoms may be more obvious, which increases the possibility of hospitalization for the child.

British general practitioner David Lloyd pointed out on Twitter that up to 15% of infected children have a rash, which is higher than the previous rate.

05 Is Omicron's ability to cause disease and death even stronger?

Initially, Omicron may not have too strong ability to cause disease and death.

As of today, there is only one clear case of Omicron infection and death in the UK. No notification has been made in other regions.

We objectively describe the pathogenicity and lethality of Omicron, and we need more time to observe. After the infection cycle of the first batch of infected persons is over, we can carry out an accurate assessment of the pathogenicity and lethality.

But at present, we can also observe the situation of the countries where the infection first appeared, and roughly judge the ability of Omicron in this respect. South Africa, the earliest report of Omicron, and one of the countries where the infection has spread the longest, is the window of observation.

Judging from the curve of the number of diagnoses and deaths of the new crown in South Africa, the number of infections and hospitalizations caused by Omicron transmission has increased significantly in recent weeks, but the initial increase in deaths is not that much, and the average length of hospitalization is not high.

It is possible that the final conclusion is that Omicron is not so pathogenic.