Omicorn news roundup: All the important developments about the Covid variant you must know 

Representational image

France adopts easier quarantine rules

Vaccinated and Covid-positive people need to isolate themselves for only seven days in France. It is a reduction from the earlier 10 days. 

Why is it important?

It is part of a larger trend of Europe adapting to the new variant with more relaxed rules. Italy has allowed primary contacts of infected to skip quarantine, if the contacts are vaccinated. Germany is considering reducing the 14-day quarantine period for primary contacts, or even doing away with the quarantine for primary contacts who have taken a booster shot.

The wider the Omicron spread, the higher the chances of a new variant: WHO

The new variant seems to be attacking the human body less severely than Delta. But a WHO expert said that its rapid spread could increase chances of new variants, which may be more dangerous or less.

Why is it important?

The variant has been spreading rapidly across countries. Europe has seen five million cases only in the last week of 2021, a surge “almost dwarfing what we have seen in the past”, said Catherine Smallwood, senior emergencies officer at WHO. “When you see the cases rise so significantly, that’s likely to generate a lot more people with severe disease, ending up in hospital and possibly going to die,” she said.

70 per cent vaccination needed to beat Omicron: WHO 

An epidemiologist at WHO, Dr Abdi Mahamud, said that unless vaccination is achieved at such high percentages, the virus can easily replicate and mutate. At a press conference, he said that it is in “global interest” to ensure 70% inoculation.

Why is it important?

With countries focused on vaccinating their citizens and delivering booster shots to them, the expert’s opinion comes as a reminder that the vaccine spread has to be fought with a global and cooperative effort. WHO has been warning that “blanket booster programmes” run by wealthier countries can skew supply in their favour and give the “virus more opportunity to spread and mutate”.

Brazil battles Omicron and an influenza outbreak

The country’s hospitals are feeling the strain as people are coming in infected by the new coronavirus variant and with the flu. The condition has been called flurona.

Why is it important?

Omicron has been the dominant strain in Brazil’s capital, Sao Paulo. Nearly 60% of the Covid-19 infections reported are from the new variant. The variant is still largely a mystery and how it interacts with flu is therefore yet to be known. It will also put on the strain on the hospital system and can cause fatalities. 

Scotland study shows Omicron variant marks significant shift in Coronavirus?

Researchers in Scotland have found that Omicron has a different way of infecting human cells. While the earlier variants interacted with an enzyme called TMRRS2 while attaching and infusing with the host cell, Omicron interacts with enzymes called cathepsins. 

Why is it important?

This means that the new variant can be different in the way it is transmitted, which organs it infects and how it multiplies. 

Key findings:

• It transmits faster.
• Grows quickly in the respiratory system but not in the lungs
• It does not cause the formation of syncitia, or giant cells that are lead to a severe disease.

• GDP growth for Q4FY22 could fall by 20-30 bps because of the curbs imposed after Omicron spread, said HDFC economists
• ICMR has given the go-ahead for the first Indian made Omicron-testing kit called OmiSure, manufactured by Tata Medical and Diagnostics.
• India sees a single day rise of 58,097 infections, a number seen last in June 2021, when the second wave was receding.
• Third wave will peak soon in India, said National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) chairperson NK Arora.  
• Intranasal Covid-19 vaccine from Bharat Biotech gets approval from DGCI to do Phase III tests.