Interpretation Of Omicron Covid Variant Symptoms

In response to Omicron Covidvariant symptoms, the National Health Commission organized experts from theChinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to answer relevant questions:

1. The discovery and epidemicsituation of Omicron Covid variant symptoms

On November 9, 2021, South Africadetected a COVID-19 B.1.1.529 variant strain for the first time from casesamples. In just 2 weeks, this variant has become the absolute dominant variantof new crown infection cases in Gauteng, South Africa, with rapid growth. OnNovember 26, WHO defined it as the fifth "variantofconcern", namedafter the Greek letter Omicron variant. As of November 28, South Africa,Israel, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, Austria and Hong Kong, China, etc.,have monitored the input of this variant. The input of this variant has notbeen found in other provinces and cities in China. The Omicron variant wasfirst discovered and reported in South Africa, but it does not mean that the virusevolved in South Africa, and the place where the variant was found is notnecessarily the place of origin.

2. Possiblereasons for Omicron Covid variant symptoms

According to the informationcurrently shared by the new coronavirus database GISAID, the number of mutationsites of the new coronavirus Omicron variant is significantly more than that ofall the new coronavirus variants that have been circulating in the past twoyears, especially in the virus spike protein has more mutations . It isspeculated that there may be three reasons for its appearance: (1) After beinginfected with the new coronavirus, immunodeficiency patients have undergone along period of evolution and accumulated a large number of mutations in thebody, which are transmitted by chance; (2) A certain animal group is infectedThe new coronavirus, the virus undergoes adaptive evolution during thetransmission of animal groups, and the mutation rate is higher than that ofhumans, and then spills over to humans; (3) The variant strain has continued tocirculate for a long time in countries or regions where the monitoring of newcoronavirus genome variation is backward , due to insufficient monitoringcapabilities, its evolutionary intermediate generation viruses have not beendetected in time.

3. Transmissibility of OrmicronVariants

At present, there is no systematicresearch data on the transmissibility, pathogenicity and immune evasion abilityof Ormicron mutants in the world. However, the Omicron variant also hasimportant amino acid mutation sites in the spike proteins of the first four VOCvariants, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, including enhanced cellular Mutationsites for somatic affinity and viral replication ability. Epidemiological andlaboratory surveillance data show that the number of cases infected with theOmicron variant in South Africa has surged and partially replaced the Deltavariant. The transmission capacity needs further monitoring and research.

4. Measurestaken by the relevant countries and regions for Omicron Covid variant symptoms

In view of the rapid prevalence ofOmicron variants in South Africa, many countries and regions, including theUnited States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, Israel, Taiwanand Hong Kong, have restricted the entry of travelers from southern Africa.China's prevention and control strategy of "foreign defense againstimport, internal defense against rebound" is still effective for theOmicron variant. The Institute of Viral Diseases of the Chinese Center forDisease Control and Prevention has established a specific nucleic aciddetection method for the Omicron variant, and continues to carry out viralgenome surveillance for possible imported cases.

5. Inthe face of the newly emerging Omicron Covid variant symptoms, what should the publicpay attention to in their daily work

• Wearinga mask is still an effective way to block the spread of the virus, and it isalso applicable to the Omicron variant. Even if the full course of vaccinationand booster shots have been completed, it is also necessary to wear masks inindoor public places, public transportation and other places. In addition, washyour hands frequently and do good indoor ventilation.
• Doa good job in personal health monitoring. When there are symptoms of suspectednew coronary pneumonia, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and othersymptoms, monitor the body temperature in time and take the initiative to seekmedical treatment.
• Reducenon-essential entry and exit. In just a few days, many countries and regionshave successively reported cases of imported cases with Omicron Covid variantsymptoms. China is also facing the risk of altering the importation of thevariant, and the current global understanding of the variant is still limited.Therefore, travel to high-risk areas should be minimized, and personalprotection during travel should be strengthened to reduce the chance ofcontracting the Omicron variant.