Here are 6 Facts Of New Variants of Corona Omicron Virus Make the World Wary, Can Trigger the Third Wave
The new variant is named WHO B.1.1.529 or Omicron. The virus is located in South Africa. Some sources say, this coronavirus mutation is more contagious than previous variants such as Delta.
WHO is concerned that Omicron's presence could be the cause of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, there are still many among the people of Indonesia who are still so foreign to the Omicron variant corona virus.
For that, launching from Kompas TV and various sources, here is a summary of facts related to the Omicron variant of the corona virus.
1. Origin
Quoting The Guardian, Friday (11/26/2021), the emergence of the Omicron variant was first associated with Gauteng Province, South Africa.
However, according to the results of the search on the initial sample, the Omicron variant is allegedly from Boswana since November 11.
Scientists say the emergence of Omicron variants most likely stems from chronic infections experienced by people with impaired immunity, such as people with HIV / AIDS.
2. Mutation ability
The Omicron variant has more than 30 surge protein mutations that it can use to bind to its host cells.
According to information reported from CBC, Saturday (11/27/2021), the number is quite large because it is equivalent to double the Delta variant.
So that it can be a threat in the future because the Covid-19 vaccine that has been circulating so far refers to the original corona virus.
An expert from South Africa explained that some mutations of the Omicron variant can cause resistance to neutralizing antibodies and increased transmission.
In addition, The Health Safety Agency's Chief Medical Advisor Susan Hopkins said a number of mutations in the Omicron variant had never been seen before.
So, according to Hopkins, there is no definitive information regarding how the Omicron variant will interact with the others and make it the most complex variant so far.
3. So Variant of Concern (VOC) WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) began to establish the Omicron variant as one of the variants included in the Variant of Concern (VoC), on Friday (11/26/2011).
The designation was made because the Omicron variant is said to have alarming mutation capabilities, and preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection for those who have been exposed.
4. Transmission rate
Although there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the Omicron variant is more contagious than other variants, the number of Omicron variant infections in South Africa has increased significantly.
As of November 16, 2021 alone, cases of Omicron variant infection have reached 273, and jumped by more than 1,200 cases this week.
Based on the latest data, it can be known that 80 percent more of them come from Gauteng Province, South Africa, so it is classified as the dominant strain in the region.
The R or value indicating the speed at which the strain spread epidemically was 1.47 for South Africa as a whole, and 1.92 for Gauteng.
The number is too high, because it has exceeded 1.0 so that the spread can continue to occur.
5. Effect on vaccine effectiveness
Until now, various studies continue to be conducted to find out how far effective the vaccine is to deal with the Omicron variant.
Experts hope a person's antibodies resulting from vaccinations as well as from previous infections are still strong enough to recognize Omicron variants.
However, it does not rule out the possibility that the effectiveness of the existing Covid-19 vaccine has decreased against the Omicron variant.
6. Distribution in the world
In less than a month since it was first identified, the Omicron variant is known to have spread in a number of countries, not just South Africa.
Infections have also been reported in countries located on different continents, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, and Belgium.
To that end, many countries of the world immediately issued international restrictions for travelers from South Africa and surrounding countries.
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