Medical Updates: What you should know about the Omicron Variant
Regular updates in our evolving industry are critical to Cornerstone’s mission to provide essential health, safety and risk management services for the travel and experiential education industries. As such, we tapped into the expertise of our Medical Director, Joshua Dubansky, MD, FACEP, to provide our community additional information about the Omicron variant.
Read on to learn more about the variant, how it may affect your organization in 2022, and what you should do now to plan ahead.
What is the Omicron variant?
Omicron is a genetic variant of the COVID-19 virus. The Omicron variant was discovered in samples collected in Botswana on November 11 and in South Africa on November 14. On November 26, Omicron was named a variant of concern by the World Health organization. Omicron is raising particular concern because it has mutated more than 30 times, and is credited with an increasing number of COVID cases in South Africa.
Viruses typically mutate at random, and those that help to facilitate viral spread get retained and passed on. Some virus variants with very successful mutations become widespread. There have been at least 12 notable COVID-19 variants already, though not all have been well known. For instance, almost everyone is familiar with the Delta variant, which is more contagious than the first forms of COVID-19. However, relatively few people are aware of Beta and Gamma, which looked concerning, but never took hold, or Alpha, which contained concerning mutations and spread rapidly for a while before fading away unexpectedly. Variants do not always behave as expected, and more data and time are needed to understand Omicron.
Where is the Omicron variant spreading?
As of December 7, Omicron had been detected in 50 countries including the US, and 19 US states. On November 30, Omicron had only been detected in 20 countries. Despite Omicron’s spread, it is important to understand that the continued increase in COVID cases in the US and other countries is still due to the Delta variant.
Is Omicron “worse” than Delta and other variants?
Viruses preferentially hang on to mutations that allow the virus to be more successful. For a virus, success means spreading to as many people as possible. Although viruses can be deadly, killing the host is not really in a virus’s best interest. Think about it as if you were the virus; you’d rather have the host stay alive and keep infecting other people. Although viruses can become more deadly, they don’t select for lethal variations the same way they select for mutations that allow them to spread. Regarding Omicron, most experts agree that it is likely to be more infectious, but not necessarily more deadly if you get infected. However, if twice as many people get infected, it is reasonable to assume that twice as many people will get very sick or die. There is much that we still don’t know about how infectious or how dangerous Omicron is compared to Delta and other variants.
What makes Omicron so concerning?
Many of Omicron’s mutations are on parts of the virus that aid it’s functioning. Some of these mutations look like they might reduce our antibodies’ ability to bind to the virus. Antibodies are how our immune system starts to fight a virus by marking it as a threat. Blocking this antibody binding is one way to evade the immune system. Other Omicron mutations seem likely to allow it faster entry into our cells and tighter binding to our cells. Many Omicron mutations are on the virus’s spike protein, which is important for binding and entry to human cells, and is also an important component of how COVID vaccines work.
Will COVID-19 variants keep emerging?
The rate of emerging variants has slowed compared to early in the pandemic when the virus was rapidly mutating. We will continue to see variants, but their rate is likely to slow, and the odds are low that new variants will have large genetic advantages compared to Delta.
Will vaccines work against Omicron, and what else can we do?
Although more “breakthrough cases” are expected among vaccinated people, existing data suggests that vaccines will still provide excellent protection against severe illness and death. Boosters are still expected to be effective, and are even more important in the setting of a new and concerning variant. In a November 30 White House briefing, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease emphasized that our existing measures are our most effective tools against Omicron:
Get vaccinated.
Get a booster.
Use masks.
Avoid crowded places.
Gather outdoors.
Maintain social distancing.
Get tested.
Isolate from others if you test positive.
These recommendations should be familiar to everyone. Although personal risk tolerance should guide behavior within these recommendations, note that preemptive border closures, travel bans, shelter-in-place orders, and other highly aggressive measures are not currently part of any response plan. Stay informed and stay safe.