WHO says omicron is life threatening for unvaccinated, elderly and people with underlying conditions Dr. Mike Ryan, director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said omicron represents a “massive threat” to the lives of the unvaccinated. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said the elderly and people with underlying conditions face an elevated risk of death compared with other groups. Van Kerkhove said omicron has been detected in every country where there’s good genetic sequencing and is likely present in every nation.
Study: Omicron associated with 91% reduction in risk of death compared to Delta https://www.axios.com/cdc-omicron-d...vid-959f1e3a-b09c-4d31-820c-90071f8e7a4f.html Omicron infections are associated with a 91% reduction in risk of death compared to the Delta variant, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, citing a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study. The big picture: The study also showed that Omicron infections were also associated with a 74% reduction in risk of going to the ICU, as well as a 53% reduction in risk of being hospitalized, Rochelle Walensky said. Details: The study, which is yet to be peer reviewed, looked at 52,297 Omicron cases and 16,982 Delta cases. Those involved tested positive in Southern California between Nov. 30, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022. It was also done with CDC collaboration and funding, Walensky said. No patients with Omicron in the study required mechanical ventilation. Additionally, those with Omicron had a shorter duration in hospital stay when compared to Delta patients: "The duration of hospital stays was approximately 70% shorter, with the median of stays being 1.5 days for Omicron, compared to about five days for Delta," Walensky said. "Looking at all hospital admissions for Omicron, 90% of patients were expected to be discharged from the hospital in three days or less," she added. Yes, but: "While we are seeing early evidence that Omicron is less severe than Delta, and that those infected are less likely to require hospitalization, it's important to note that Omicron continues to be much more transmissible than Delta," Walensky said. This has resulted in "unprecedented daily case counts, sickness, absenteeism, and strains on our healthcare system," according to the CDC director. NIAID director Anthony Fauci added that those who are vaccinated and boosted are much less likely to get severe illness from Omicron. He said that as the virus is controlled — but not eradicated — "virtually everybody is going to wind up getting exposed and likely get infected," but the chances of getting sick is "very, very low" for those who are up to date with their inoculations.
WHO says omicron is life threatening for unvaccinated, elderly and people with underlying conditions https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/who...vaccinated-elderly-underlying-conditions.html
Gene that can slash Covid severity by 20 per cent explains why symptoms hit some victims harder than others, scientists say The gene tells the body to make a protein that is effective at breaking down SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid. It is found in one in three people of white European ancestry, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. In those of African heritage, it was present in eight out of ten individuals, found the study in Nature Genetics.
Yeah baby! Also known as OIAS; IFI-4; OIASI; E18/E16 Summary This gene is induced by interferons and encodes a protein that synthesizes 2',5'-oligoadenylates (2-5As). This protein activates latent RNase L, which results in viral RNA degradation and the inhibition of viral replication. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants with different enzymatic activities. Polymorphisms in this gene have been associated with susceptibility to viral infection and diabetes mellitus, type 1. A disease-associated allele in a splice acceptor site influences the production of the p46 splice isoform. This gene is located in a cluster of related genes on chromosome 12. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2016] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4938
Denmark Reports a 36% Lower Risk of Hospitalization From Omicron https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...36-lower-risk-of-hospitalization-from-omicron The risk of ending up hospitalized after a Covid-19 infection is 36% lower for people who were exposed to the omicron than the delta variant, according to a new study from health authorities in Denmark. The study in the Nordic nation, which has one of the world’s most ambitious programs for testing and variant screening, showed that 0.6% of those infected with the new variant were admitted to hospital, compared with 1.5% of those who tested positive for delta. The results are in line with earlier indications from countries including the U.K., where a Health Security Agency analysis showed a 47% reduction in the risk of presentation to emergency care or hospital admission with omicron compared to delta. The sheer number of infections still remains a cause for concern, as case numbers soar to new record levels across Europe. The research included 188,980 people who were tested positive in the period between Nov. 21 and Dec. 19 last year, when omicron emerged to replace delta as the dominant variant. In Denmark, a third consecutive daily record for the number of cases was set on Thursday, as 40,626 infections and 15 deaths were reported in the country of 5.8 million. Despite the continuing surge in cases, Denmark has lifted some restrictions and the government is considering further easing, as the number of patients in intensive care units is declining. The new report also showed that while vaccines may not prevent infections with omicron, they are effective in reducing the risk of more serious outcomes. “Vaccination can prevent three of four hospital admission among people who test positive after being infected with either the omicron or the delta variant,” Tyra Grove Krause, a top official at the Danish Statens Serum Institut, said in a statement. “This shows that the decoupling between case numbers and hospital admissions are partly due to the new variant, but to an even larger degree it is due to the high level of vaccine coverage.” More than 80% of the Danish population have been vaccinated with two doses and close to 60% have taken booster shots.
Not so fast... Analysis: How Omicron highlights fading hope of herd immunity from COVID https://www.reuters.com/business/he...s-fading-hope-herd-immunity-covid-2022-01-20/