Opinion: The degree of protection of a second booster against the BA.4 or BA.5 variants is unknown. Our leaders must push cautionary measures to protect public health, writes Sanjaya Senanayake
, scientists have found a unique mixture of COVID-19 mutations never seen in people, raising concerns of an animal reservoir of COVID-19 yet to jump to our world. Some of Omicron’s mutations are more consistent with evolving in a rodent. All this is relevant because coronaviruses are primarily animal viruses, and most of the emerging infections in humans over the past few decades have come from the animal kingdom.
Whether Omicron meets the technical criteria for a separate pandemic is a moot point. The importance of thinking of Omicron as a new pandemic means thatIf we regard Omicron as a new pandemic, then leaders shouldn’t be afraid to espouse cautionary measures, nor should the public feel betrayed by them being espoused. It’s not that nothing has worked for the past two-and-a-half years, but rather that we have had to adapt to a new circumstance, courtesy of Omicron.
This includes commencing early antiviral treatment and advocating first and second booster doses in at-risk populations.However, if this is a new pandemic strain, we need to accept the limitations of our existing armoury of interventions. The
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