The knee-jerk reaction followed News that the variant had an unusually high number of mutations that scientists feared would become more transmissible and lead to immune evasion.

Much is still unknown about Omicron, including its origin, severity, and portability. The researchers are also trying to figure out whether it could crowd out existing variants and become dominant, as Delta did.

Early “signs” show that people who have received the coronavirus vaccine booster are “protected” against the new variant, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Tuesday.

This comes after anecdotal reports from South Africa that have been suggested the most Cases of the Omicron variant have so far been mild. But these South African cases were “mostly” [among] young people anyway. So, I would say we just don’t know [if the new variant causes more serious illness than previous strains]”Said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN on Sunday.

Scientists say it will take weeks to find out how dangerous the new variant is. We do know, however, that Omicron has been found in Europe, with cases of community transmission identified in previous Covid-19 samples before the travel bans went into effect.

Dutch health officials said Tuesday that Omicron was present in the Netherlands a week before the arrival of two flights from South Africa with the virus. At least one of the cases is said to have contracted in the Netherlands, said the RIVM virologist Chantal Reusken to the national broadcaster NOS.

Nine cases of Omicron were linked to a private event in Scotland on November 20, days before South Africa announced the existence of the variant. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday that none of the individuals had recent travel history or known connections to anyone who had traveled from southern Africa.

These cases have led some to question the need for the cascading travel restrictions that have sparked a wave of resentment across the African continent. Many view the bans as yet another example of Africans bearing the brunt of hasty pandemic policies, with rich countries hoarding vaccine doses and resources to the detriment of poorer countries.

“Excellent science should be praised, not punished,” the South African State Department said on Saturday, adding that the restrictions were “similar to punishing South Africa for its advanced genome sequencing and ability to identify new variants more quickly.”

“The introduction of travel bans targeting Africa attacks global solidarity,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti. said the next day. “Covid-19 is constantly taking advantage of our departments. We will only overcome the virus if we work together on solutions.”

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.

Q: What alarmed scientists at Omicron compared to other variants?

A: What initially alarmed doctors and scientists in South Africa in the case of Omicron was the rapid spread of this new variant CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

“It appears to be faster than Delta, but whether it will displace Delta and become dominant remains to be seen,” she said.

“In addition, the large number of mutations in this variant – more than 50 in total – raises the question of immune defense, both in vaccines and in treatments such as monoclonal antibodies. These are types of information that we need to get through further scientific study. ”,“ She added.

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Scientists say it will take weeks to determine how dangerous Omicron really is. Here’s why

When South Africa announced the distribution of a new and disturbing variant last week, scientists got to work. By the time the WHO named the new line Omicron, several research teams had already duplicated the work from South Africa and mapped the genetic changes that made Omicron the new bad actor in the coronavirus family. Maggie Fox reports.

Although many of these mutations were known from other variants, scientists still weren’t sure whether they were significantly different from Omicron’s previous variants – particularly the super-dominant Delta variant.

But it will take weeks of testing to find out what additional superpowers, if any, these mutations confer on Omicron. Researchers need to study what is happening in the real world by testing samples from patients, sequencing their genomes to see if Omicron is causing the infections, and if more samples turn out to be Omicron.

They will also investigate whether Omicron infections lead to more severe illness, and whether fully vaccinated people are more likely to be infected with the Omicron variant than other strains.

Making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory was previously unthinkable. European countries show that it can work

At the beginning of the month, Austria took a step that was once unimaginable for a western democracy: It announced that the Covid-19 vaccination would be mandatory for the entire population.

By then, governments around the world had rejected the idea of ​​a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate and instead opted for incentives and other “nudges” to motivate people to get vaccinated. Even in authoritarian states like China, it is not mandatory.

Meanwhile, other European countries are considering similarly drastic measures to get more people to vaccinate, despite criticism that low vaccination rates make them unrealistic and rob millions of their livelihoods. Eliza Mackintosh reports.

FDA advisors vote in favor of recommending approval of the Merck pill for the treatment of Covid-19

As concerns about the Omicron variant grew, advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend approval of an emergency pill from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to help treat Covid-19.

The narrow 13-10 vote approved the treatment called molnupiravir, although members of the committee raised concerns about risks to pregnant women and several hoped Merck would be asked to continue collecting safety data on the pill.

If approved, the drug would be the first oral antiviral treatment to fight Covid-19. It can reduce the relative risk of someone causing serious illness or death by about 30%. The pills must be taken within five days of the onset of symptoms to do much good, and people must take four pills twice a day for five days.

TOP TIP

There is a new variant in circulation. Here’s what you can do to stay safe

As the world waits to learn more about the Omicron variant, it is easy to get caught up in the unknown. Instead, health officials are reminding us of the simple but effective tools we all have to fight the virus.

Here’s how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Czech President Milos Zeman officially named Petr Fiala as the country's new Prime Minister on Sunday while sitting in an acrylic box after testing positive for the coronavirus early last week.

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