Below variants Omicron Ba.4 and Ba.5 are becoming dominant thanks to a very high speed in infecting and the marked ability to circumvent both natural and vaccine immunity. This also explains the significant number of reinfections. At the same time, compared to the original Omicron which usually did not reach the lungs, 5 has characteristics that cause more prominent symptoms. It must also be said that two countries that have already faced the wave of the Omicron 5 such as South Africa and Portugal have not had a devastating effect on hospitalizations. South Africa in particular, also thanks to a high number of people who have already contracted Covid in the past but above all thanks to the low average age of the population, has not seen an increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Higher figures in Portugal, but in any case without the emergence of the first phase of the pandemic.
Coronavirus infections have continued to rise across Britain, with the increase thought to be fuelled by two faster-spreading Omicron sub-variants https://t.co/Xvx4Xgg2DZ
— The Times (@thetimes) June 25, 2022
According to an article in the scientific journal Nature, “the rise of new lineages appears to stem from their ability to infect people who were immune to previous forms of Omicron and other variants.” “But so far the latest variants of Omicron seem to cause fewer deaths and hospitalizations than the previous ones, a sign that the growing immunity of the population is mitigating the immediate consequences of the Covid 19 peaks.”
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However, the disease caused by Omicron 5 should not be underestimated, quite the contrary. According to preliminary research from the University of Tokyo, it is true that Delta and Alpha produced more severe symptoms than Omicron. But the 4th and 5th are changing the scenario because they return to affect the cells of the lungs. The Guardian reports a statement by researcher Kei Sato explaining that “Omicron 4 and 5 are more risky, at least potentially, than Omicron 2 for global health.” Previous vaccines and infections offer less protection than these new strains (for this reason Italy is preparing a new vaccination campaign with adapted vaccines in the autumn).
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Another research presented at the Academy of Neurology congregation warns of the long-term effects of the infection. The study analyzed the medical records of half of the Danish population and found that those who tested positive had a 3.5 times greater risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
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