COVID: OMICRON VARIANT, how to realize you have been infected, the expert speaks
OMICRON VARIANT, how to realize that you have been infectedThe variant Omicron is paralyzing Italy with thousands of positives (especially among the vaccinated) and millions of people in isolation for having had contact with a subject infected with COVID. But this new variant it’s dangerous? He talked about it Giuseppe Remuzzi, director of the Institute of Pharmacological Research, to the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The expert explained basically how can you notice that you have been infected by Omicron: “A study from the University of Hong Kong shows that although Omicron multiplies much faster in the bronchi than Delta, this does not happen in the lungs which are usually spared. Scientists carried out tests on cell cultures of the human respiratory system. It is a first scientific confirmation of what was observed in South Africa, where the variant was first identified and began to spread. The symptoms described appear mild: sore throat, nasal congestion, dry cough and muscle aches. What to do? Immediately swab and isolate yourself as well as contact your doctor. Loss of taste and smell is less common. Two other preliminary studies, conducted in Scotland and England, show that the new variant is associated with a lower hospitalization of patients (- 40-60%) “.
Then there is another fact: the incubation time. In the case of Delta was 4/6 days, with Omicron reduced to 3. In any case, we cannot escape reflection: a small percentage of serious patients out of a huge number of infected people is relevant. If, for example, Omicron positives with symptoms were one million and of these 1% ended up in hospital, we would be talking about 10 thousand people. And if it were 10% to request hospitalization, the figure would even increase to 100,000!
Furthermore, the studies on Omicron lead us to be moderately optimistic on several aspects, but a great deal of attention is still needed on the part of everyone in order not to take risks.
Furthermore, with the third dose, the level of neutralizing antibodies increases significantly (with Pfizer by 25 times). A vaccine with three doses can become infected, but usually has mild forms: however, we cannot completely exclude the risk of aggravation. The booster has a specific role: it intervenes on the immune system, already prepared from the first two doses, not as a simple addition, but as an enhancement, both at the antibody level and at the level of B and T cells.
The response to the third dose is qualitatively different from that of the first two. At this time the booster is essential for all age groups, from 5 years upwards. Vaccinating children is crucial: as the Washington Post, in the United States pediatric wards are filling up with COVID patients, especially a New York and 50% are children under 5 who cannot be immunized.
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