The mutant’s ability to spread faster and evade immunity came at a bad time — right as travel increased and many people let down their guard. This is what is known so far.
about how hugely contagious it is, but scientists don’t yet know if it causes more severe disease even as the world faces exploding cases just before Christmas.
The speed that it’s outpacing the also very contagious delta variant is astonishing public health officials. In three weeks, omicron now makes up 80 per cent of new symptomatic cases diagnosed by Houston Methodist’s testing sites. It took the delta variant three months to reach that level, Long said.
Lab tests show while two doses may not be strong enough to prevent infection, a booster shot of either the Pfizer orIn South Africa, where omicron already has spread widely, scientists reported a jump in reinfections that they hadn’t seen when two previous mutants, including delta, moved through the country.Antibody levels naturally drop over time, and a booster revved them back up again, by 25 times for Pfizer’s extra shot and 37 times for Moderna’s.
Those extra defences include T cells that mobilise to beat back the virus, plus memory cells that, once reactivated, race to make more and stronger antibodies.A prior infection doesn’t seem to offer much protection against an omicron infection although, like with vaccination, it may reduce the chances of severe illness.where omicron already has spread widely, scientists reported a jump in reinfections that they hadn’t seen when two previous mutants, including delta, moved through the country.
What scientists can’t measure is human behaviour: Many places were relaxing restrictions, winter forced gatherings indoors and travel has jumped right as omicron began spreading.It’s still too early to know — especially given that if the vaccinated get a breakthrough infection, it should be milder than if omicron attacks the unvaccinated.
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