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Omicron mutation, a new mutation of Corona officially announced by the South African government, is shaking the world. There are also concerns that Omicron has a stronger transmission power than the delta mutation, and in particular, existing vaccines may not work. It will take 2-3 weeks to confirm this.
Correspondent Yunsu Kim from Washington.
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Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the top authority on COVID-19 in the United States, said that Omicron will also exist in the United States.
As it has already spread in many countries, there will be unconfirmed infections.
Fauci was particularly concerned that the mutation might evade the immunity provided by existing vaccines.
[Pouch/Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: Analysis of the Omicron mutation shows that it is highly infective and can evade the immunity that the person who received the vaccine has.]
Still, he strongly recommended the additional vaccination.
As basic immunity is expanded by receiving booster vaccinations, it is the best way to respond to new mutations at this time.
Some experts expected that the existing vaccine would also have some effect on Omicron as the vaccine made based on the first COVID-19 virus had a significant effect on the delta mutation.
However, I thought it would take 2-3 weeks to check this.
[Collins/Director of the National Institutes of Health: About 37% of the South African population has been vaccinated, and it will take two to three weeks to see how effective these people are compared to unvaccinated people.] In the
United States, one day As the number of new infections exceeds 80,000 for nearly two weeks, there are even concerns about a fifth pandemic.