Fighting Omicron and Preventing New Covid Variants

Vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new Covid variants emerging. Current commonly available tests diagnose Covid-19 infection/virus without knowing specific variant.

This is the third blog in the series of articles by the same author on emerging Covid variants.

First part: SARS-CoV-2 VARIANTS and MUTATION
Second Part: Covid Variant OMICRON – How Serious is the Threat?

What We Know about Omicron – 2 weeks after statement from WHO:

• Omicron Spread – As suggested in the earlier blog, Omicron variant is likely to spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. Omicron spread compared to Delta variant is unknown so far.
• Omicron severity of illness – More data are needed to know the illness severity and pattern. It is expected to cause milder symptoms in vaccinated individuals.
• Will vaccines work against Omicron? The recent emergence of Omicron emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters.
• Will treatments work against Omicron? Scientists are working to determine how well existing treatments for COVID-19 work.

Preventing and Fighting Omicron

Vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new Covid variants emerging. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. CDC recommends that everyone 5 years and older protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated. CDC recommends that everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot at least two months after their initial J&J/Janssen vaccine or six months after completing their primary COVID-19 vaccination series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.