The new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 that WHO named Omicron has become a big problem in the world. The WHO has also dubbed Omicron as a 'variant of concern'. Experts around the world have claimed that monoclonal antibody therapy will not affect dangerous variants like Omicron. Other things have also come to the fore regarding the strength and characteristics of the Omicron variant.
How contagious is the Omicron variant?
Preliminary analysis of COVID-19 variant Omicron in other countries, including South Africa, has described it as six times more powerful than the Delta variant of coronavirus which wreaked havoc during the second wave in India.
According to a New York Times report, Omicron is more infectious than the previous variants and can also neutralise the immune response caused by vaccination or natural infection.
According to experts, Omicron is the most mutated version of the virus that the world has ever seen. Scientists say that Omicron is genetically different from previous Beta and Delta variants, but it is not yet known whether these genetic changes make it more dangerous.
Omicron variant vs Delta variant of COVID-19 - Key points
Monoclonal antibody therapy affects the Delta variant of the virus, meanwhile, it does not seem to have an effect on the Delta Plus variant and Omicron.
What are the symptoms of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron?
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, who was the first to identify the Omicron variant in South Africa, said that the new variant was causing "unfamiliar symptoms in patients".
As per Dr Coetzee, the symptoms included extreme tiredness, mild muscle aches, a scratchy throat, and dry cough, while only a few of the cases showed slightly high fever.
She also revealed that the patients were able to completely recover without the need to be hospitalised. She has treated more than 30 COVID-19 patients with "unfamiliar symptoms" in the last 10 days.
