Omicron – Pt. 1

Dec 14, 2021 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – A new Sars-CoV-2 variant of concern – Omicron – has emerged in the past few months, and is already playing havoc around the globe. It is important not to point fingers. This variant was first detected in South Africa, but for all we know it may have originated in Guyana. It is important not to stigmatise the reporting of variants or of new diseases, or we may become even worse at detecting and responding to threats.
At first glance, it seems that the world has not learned its lessons from the devastating Alpha and Delta variants, which have collectively claimed the lives of millions this year. Critics of the global response will point to the fact that politicians the world over, satisfied that vaccination had reduced the mortality rate of the disease, have allowed the virus to spread unchecked, and hence provided an opportunity for mutation.
This is an appealing story, but in the case of Omicron it does not quite line up with the facts. The sheer number of mutations present in the Omicron variant – far more than any variant of concern seen before – has lead virologists to hypothesize that it may have developed in an immune-compromised individual who has suffered from COVID over a period of many months, allowing the virus time to adapt and mutate against their weakened but persistent immune response. As such, unlike with the Delta variant, we cannot entirely lay the blame for this mutation on the wide spread of the virus, though it certainly has not hurt [the virus].
Viruses mutating in immune-compromised individuals is nothing new. School children are taught in biology classes about the importance of finishing antibiotic regimens for diseases such as TB to prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistant-variants. And immune-compromised individuals often do not develop strong immunity after vaccination. This is why public health officials were so desperate to achieve herd immunity – to ensure that the community’s immunity – from vaccines or infection – would shield immune-compromised individuals.
That does not mean there was nothing that could have been done to protect these individuals. Vaccines should not have been hoarded by the most developed countries. This applies both to the doses they pre-purchased as well as manufacturing capacity and intellectual property. We were told at the beginning of this year that waiving vaccine manufacturers’ exclusive rights to produce and distribute vaccines would not help because other countries would not be able to manufacture these vaccines at the scale and standard required. The current American president initially supported this position, then changed his mind, then changed it again under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry. Now, with licenced vaccine manufacturing taking place at a large scale in India and Brazil, it has become apparent that the barriers to manufacture were not insurmountable.
MRNA delivery was touted as allowing vaccines to be developed specifically targeted at variants, but with a new dominant variant emerging every four to five months even these cannot be developed, tested and delivered fast enough to keep up with the virus.
So what do we know about the new Omicron variant? So far not much, other than that it is spreading fast. From the data in South Africa, it appears to be more effective at re-infecting individuals who have already contracted COVID. This also coincides with waning immunity from infection and vaccination, which further diminishes protection against the disease. There have been reports that it is less lethal than previous variants, but the same was initially hoped about Delta, with little to show for it.
Whether or not Omicron is able to evade previous immunity, eventually variants will emerge that can. Eventually, with improvements in treatment, we may be able to learn to live with COVID. But we are not there yet – over a thousand people in this country have died already. I would like to ask you all to have just a little more patience, to save the lives of your fellow citizens.
So what can you do to protect yourself from Omicron? The same as usual – if you haven’t been vaccinated, get vaccinated. If you have been vaccinated, get a booster. Practice social distancing – this does not mean staying five feet away from people, it means staying five miles away – avoid in-person social activity. Wear a mask – especially indoors, which is where masks are most effective. If you are stuck indoors with other people, keep the space ventilated. There is no magic bullet to end this pandemic (for now, at least), but, as I am reminded on the radio every morning, “Each man must do his bit for his comrades”.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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