Omicron variant, data on symptoms and news: no alarm in Italy

(Gro / Adnkronos) Read also The Omicron variant, also present in Italy, could replace the Delta variant and become dominant at Christmas within a couple of weeks. The first data and news arriving from South Africa, where the variant has been identified, authorize a moderate optimism: the symptoms appear mild, there is no surge in hospital admissions in the face of an increase in infections due to the characteristics of the variant, which may be more transmissible than Delta. The picture is still in progress, as highlighted by Ema, the European drug agency.EMA: “OMICRON CAN BECOME DOMINANT AT CHRISTMAS” “We don’t know if the Omicron variant will replace Delta for Christmas, it can happen. But we are not. certain “, says Marco Cavaleri, head of the anti-Covid vaccines task force, taking stock of the spread of the variant in Europe. Cases related to contagions of the Omicron variant “seem to be mostly mild”, with less severe symptoms. Cavaleri points out, however, that more evidence needs to be gathered to determine if the severity spectrum of the disease caused by Omicron is different from that of all the variants circulated so far. “And only time – he emphasizes – will tell”. “We are in the fourth wave, the only way to bend the curve is the combination of high vaccination rates and measures. We must vaccinate the highest possible number of citizens”, he reiterates. with the first significant data coming from South Africa: Omicron causes milder covid symptoms and appears to have a lower danger Less than a third of covid patients hospitalized during the last wave in the country have severe symptoms: in the initial phase of the previous two waves , the share rose to two thirds. Data released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), in the Pretoria area, refer to 1,633 hospitalizations between November 14 and December 8. Severe cases represent 31% of the total: these are infected people who need oxygen or mechanical ventilation. In the initial phase of the first and second wave, the percentage reached 67 and 66 respectively. The data are part of a study not subjected to peer review and it is not excluded that serious cases may increase in the coming days: to have a more complete and clear picture. The report does not refer to whether the patients were vaccinated, so it is unclear how much the vaccine can limit the severity of the disease.As the Guardian points out, covid cases have increased by 255% in the past week. However, the surge in cases has not produced a significant increase in intensive care admissions, as evidenced by the picture outlined by Netcare, one of the pillars of private healthcare in the country. “About 90% of the patients admitted to our hospitals do not need oxygen,” Richard Friedland tells the Daily Maverick. “In previous waves, 26% of Covid patients needed intensive care in the hospitals of the group. OMICRON IN ITALY, NO ALARMS In Italy, the scenario is outlined by the epidemiologist Donato Greco, member of the Technical Scientific Committee (CTS). “To date, the data tell us that in Europe” the presence of the Omicron variant “is sporadic, and that in Italy there are a dozen isolations. And that no longer seems to be transmissible as it was initially thought, and is certainly less pathogenic, as announced yesterday by the WHO. Furthermore, the three doses of the anti-Covid vaccine, according to data provided by Pfizer, are protective “even against this variant.” All this leads us today to a conclusion – which obviously may change in the event of new data – namely that we should not worry about Omicron “. No alarm, therefore, even if” Omicron is likely to spread in our country. Now he is not doing it, and in any case if he does we are protected with the three doses of vaccine “.