Posted on 11/26/2021 8:04:48 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Summarizing of our post from last might (which we urge everyone to read) for those who are just now waking up to the global chaos resulting from the B.1.1.529 variant, which today got the Greek letter designation Omicron...
Omicron sounds like the name of an 80s movie's evil Robot King. — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 26, 2021
... skipping the widely expected letter Nu (and certainly the one following it, Xi), here is what we know, courtesy of Newsquawk, Credit Suisse and Citi.
Background
Is it more deadly?
It is currently too early to determine if the new variant has higher mortality than previous variants. Reported cases only started rising in South Africa on 19 November, so any impact on hospitalizations and COVID-related deaths will not have yet emerged.
Testing and Detectability
Tulio de Oliveria, the Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response & innovation (CERI), South Africa, has written that the variant can be detected by a normal PCR test and as such it will be "easy for the world to track it". It wasn't immediately clear if this is one of those "excess false positive PCR tests" but it's safe to assume for now that it is.
According to Credit Suisse, "one silver lining may come in the ease of identifying this variant via qPCR tests. B.1.1.529 has a deletion within the s-gene which can be identified easily via widely-used PCR tests. More complex sequencing analysis is needed to differentiate the delta variant. This will help track the spread of B.1.1.529, both within Southern Africa and across the globe."
How widespread is it
This new variant, B.1.1.529 seems to spread very quick! In less than 2 weeks now dominates all infections following a devastating Delta wave in South Africa (Blue new variant, now at 75% of last genomes and soon to reach 100%)
pic.twitter.com/Z9mde45Qe0 — Tulio de Oliveira (@Tuliodna) November 25, 2021
Transmission
Oliveria, explains that the new variant is spreading very quickly, in under two-weeks it is now dominating all infections in South Africa following the Delta waves domination – writing that it the variant is “now at 75% of last genomes and soon to reach 100%”.
Additionally, the virus contains mutations that have been seen in other variants and appear to make transmission easier.
Outside of Africa, two cases have been reported in Hong Kong, one from a traveller from the region and another who was quarantining in the adjacent hotel room. Most recently, a case has been reported in Israel.
In response to this, the UK has placed much of southern Africa on the red list, with Israel India, Japan and Singapore also taking similar measures. Additionally, EU Commission President von der Leyen is to propose activation of the emergency air brake, to halt travel from southern Africa.
Vaccines
It is too early to accurately determine the vaccine response to the new variant. However, the significant number of variants increase the likelihood that current vaccines, which were designed with the original COVID-19 strain in mind, may be less effective.
Known variants include those that make it more challenging for antibodies to recognise their presence.
Laboratory testing is already underway according to the South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases Initial thoughts from the institute are that partial immune escape is likely, a view that seems possible given the numerous mutations in comparison to the sequence that existing vaccines were designed against. The first view on this to be from in vitro immunogenicity test or perhaps from computer modelling of the sequence. Credit Suisse estimates initial lab data could take less than 1 week to generate given the sequence is already known and work is already ongoing.
New Vaccine Would be Available in 100 days
According to Pfizer, if a vaccine-escape variant emerges, the company expects to develop, produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in 100 days.
Impact of efficacy of existing drugs antibodies is unknown.
There have been significant advances in treatment of COVID since it emerged in the disease waves of 2020: the use of widely-available steroids, and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Roche's Actemra have significantly improved survival outcomes.
More recently, antibody therapies targeting COVID (LLY, REGN/Roche, AZN) have significantly improved outcomes against COVID variants to date. It will need to be seen if their efficacy is equal against the new B1.1.529 variant.
Lastly the recent positive data from oral anti-viral agents (PFE, MRK/Ridgeback) may also have the potential to slow the spread of any new waves of COVID. The effectiveness of these treatments against new variants of concern will need to be tested, but lab results should be expected relatively quickly. In-human studies should also yield results relatively quickly if they are run in areas where the prevalence of 8.1.1.529 is high.
What's next
According to Citi, concern over Omicron needs to be balanced against the failure of other concerning variants such as Beta (also first identified in Africa) to out-compete delta.
The next two weeks will be critical to: (i) determine whether Omicron outcompetes delta in high delta prevalence countries (2-3 weeks), (ii) engineered pseudoviruses for Omicron to determine neutralization by serum of vaccination and previously infected patients (2-4 weeks), and (iii) real world data to determine rates of hospitalisation and death (c. 6-8 weeks). The implementation of travel restrictions and public health measures may push back some of the above timeline estimates. Novel oral anti-virals should retain activity against Omicron but resistance may emerge with time.
Fauci is saying: “Boy, that gain of function really worked!”
OMICRON is an anagram of MORONIC.
How many times will people poop their pants running for the exit after another niwit shouts fire ?
The next phase of the plandemic. Pfizer and Moderna shareholders are gleeful, as are the world elites.
He needs to be asked if he still thinks it was worth the risk.
“As of Thursday there were almost 100 cases detected in South Africa, where it’s become the dominant strain among new infections. Early PCR test results showed that 90% of 1,100 new cases reported Wednesday in the South African province that includes Johannesburg were caused by the new variant, according to de Oliveira.”
*****
1,100/90 = almost 100
.
No mention of the effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Vitamins C or D, Zinc, aspirin, NAC or the combination of ceturizine (Zyrtec) and famotidine (Pepcid AC). Naturally...no money to be made by the drug companies, and no control bonus for the tyrants
things are bad for the fear porn mob when they have to drag out Neil Ferguson again:
27 Nov: Daily Mail UK: Australia slams its borders shut to Omicron-hit countries in Africa as Aussies returning from the regions will go into immediate quarantine
Australia closed its borders to nine southern Africa nations over highly-infectious Omicron Covid-19 strain
South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Seychelles flagged
Belgian officials said the case was detected in an unvaccinated young woman who had returned from Egypt
By LUKE ANDREWS HEALTH REPORTER and JAMES TAPSFIELD POLITICAL EDITOR and DAVID WILCOCK, WHITEHALL CORRESPONDENT and JOE DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE and AIDAN WONDRACZ FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Israel has also detected a case in a vaccinated individual, meaning it has now been confirmed in three continents. The Israeli had returned from Malawi. Two other suspected cases are being investigated...
In a glimmer of hope, the South African Medical Association said that all cases of the Botswana variant had been in young people and caused only mild illness. It described the global response as a ‘storm in a teacup’...
The expert whose modelling helped instigate the first coronavirus lockdown said that the decision to impose travel restrictions was ‘prudent’.
Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: ‘The B.1.1.529 variant has an unprecedented number of mutations in the spike protein gene, the protein which is the target of most vaccines.
‘There is therefore a concern that this variant may have a greater potential to escape prior immunity than previous variants.
‘It is also concerning that this variant appears to be driving a rapid increase in case numbers in South Africa. The Government’s move to restrict travel with South Africa is therefore prudent.
‘However, we do not yet have reliable estimates of the extent to which B.1.1.529 might be either more transmissible or more resistant to vaccines, so it is too early to be able to provide an evidence-based assessment of the risk it poses.’
Although only 100 cases of the new variant have so far been identified, it is already in three countries, suggesting it is more widespread than the official tally.
Two cases have been detected in Hong Kong – both of whom had links to South Africa –three have been picked up in Botswana and the remainder are in South Africa...
UK Government scientists believe it can infect previously-infected patients with ease, because South Africa has very high levels of natural immunity...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10247613/Its-storm-teacup-South-African-medics-try-calm-fears-Omicron.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
If only a) media would stop reporting on Covid and b) people would stop getting tested all the time it might go away!!’
My natural immunity is jumping out of my bloodstream like Free Willy and screaming LET ME AT IT!!!
Can’t remember where I saw it, but some are saying it’s not that serious. It’s less lethal than other variants.
Go, Willy! Swim free!!!
It should be called the BlahBlahBlah strain
That’s a good one. The first thing I thought of when hearing the variant name was the robot planet from Transformers, Unicron.
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