A study shows that 40% of Africans are opposed to mandatory vaccinations. Image: Canva
A study shows that 40% of Africans are opposed to mandatory vaccinations. Image: Canva
With the discovery of a new variant – especially one that has over 30 mutations – there’s always an element of panic that comes as part of the package. When Omicron was declared by South African scientists last week, the world shut its doors to the country, as a way to thank the nation for its work.
But there are early – very, very early – indications that Omicron infections present more mild symptoms, and the wall of protection offered by a full vaccination and booster programme keeps the risk of severe disease at extremely low levels.
Sadly, a new variant circulating in the population does mean we’ll get more cases, more hospitalisations, and inevitably, more deaths as the virus experience a resurgence. But, if Omicron proves to be less harmful than Delta, we can minimise the impact of this variant, and change the course of the pandemic.
Hamish McCallum, a Director at the Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security at Australia’s Griffith University, has explained that the spread of a more mild variant could lead to COVID-19 transitioning from a pandemic, into an endemic disease.
As we need to stress once more, we are still at such a preliminary stage with the Omicron variant. Rigorous academic data on its transmissibility, threat level, and ability to circumvent vaccines is still weeks away. But, with many patients now displaying mild symptoms, change might be on the horizon.
“Some experts have predicted Covid will also become less severe as it transitions to an endemic level of disease – settling into a predictable pattern of infections in a given location.”
“It’s possible the Omicron variant may be the first step in this process. It is very common for viruses to become less virulent (that is, cause less severe disease) once they become established in a population. “