The World Health Organization is seriously concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, which is complicating the work of already overburdened medical services worldwide. “The new waves of the virus show once again that Covid-19 is far from over,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference.
According to him, the virus is spreading freely around the world, and many countries are struggling with the burden of hospitalizing acutely ill patients and treating post-Covid complications. Last Friday, the WHO Emergency Committee on COVID concluded during an online meeting that the pandemic remains an international public health threat.
According to Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Emergency Response Program, the number of reported cases of COVID infection has increased by 30% in the past two weeks, primarily due to the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. At the same time, the WHO committee acknowledges that the evolution of the virus and the characteristics of emerging strains remain “uncertain and unpredictable.
Variants of the BA.4 and BA.5 coronaviruses were first detected in South Africa last year and have since spread rapidly around the world, with experts predicting that they may soon become dominant in Europe and the United States. Covid, like all viruses, replicates by cloning its own RNA, but this mechanism is not perfect. Errors in copying (mutations) cause the new virus to be genetically slightly different from the matrix.
And if such changes prove beneficial, the new variant gains advantages over the old one and begins to thrive-until the next successful mutation occurs. Among the best-known genetic versions of the coronavirus were “Alpha” and “Delta,” which caused waves of mass infection. BA.4 and BA.5 are closely related to the “Omicron” variant that caused a wave of illnesses last winter, but proved to be less dangerous.
According to Johns Hopkins University in the United States, it is much less likely to kill patients or require hospitalization. In March, the World Health Organization began tracking these variants because they were spreading faster than others. In fact, they are now present in most European countries and threaten to overshadow all other coronavirus variants. In Portugal, for example, this has already happened with the BA.5 strain. Similar trends can be observed in the USA and even in Australia.
It is believed that the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are no more lethal than other types of COVID-19.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes End of story: Podcast Advertising. In any case, the majority of the population has already acquired some immunity through vaccination or previous illness, which reduces both the risk of infection and, should it occur, the severity of the disease. However, apparently these new variants (actually sub-variants, since strictly speaking the “Omicron” itself is the variant) are more virulent, meaning that they are easier to infect.
Part of this is due to the fact that our immunity to the coronavirus weakens over time, but much also depends on the nature of the mutation (favorable for the virus and unfavorable for us). Another explanation is that many countries have lifted pandemic-related restrictions, loosened control measures, and increased human contacts, giving the virus a new opportunity. In addition (oh, those mutations already), BA.4 and BA.5 have the ability to infect people who have recently recovered from other variants of “Omicron”.
“We have a lot of evidence that people who have already been infected with Omicron become infected with the BA.5 variant. We know that for sure,” American virologist Gregory Poland told Reuters.
As with other coronavirus variants, the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is highest in the elderly and in people with weakened immune systems or serious health problems. The best, though not ideal, protection today, according to experts, remains vaccination and subsequent booster shots. They significantly reduce the risk of severe disease from infection with the major coronavirus variants, alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Doctors insist that we all receive the prescribed doses of vaccines to protect us against both existing and possible new variants of the coronavirus.
In addition, new versions of vaccines against new variants are already being developed and tested, manufacturers can significantly increase production if needed, and regulators are preparing new rules to speed up the approval process for new vaccines.
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