What are the most prominent symptoms that appear on those who received the full corona vaccination when infected with the Omicron strain of corona?
Is the pandemic over?
What is the latest data on the emergence of Covid-19?
The answers to these questions, and more, are in this report.
The most common symptom of OMICRON in those who have received the full vaccination
A person is defined as having received a fully vaccinated vaccination - according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the following cases:
Two weeks after receiving the second dose of two-dose vaccines, such as Pfizer or Moderna.
Two weeks after receiving a dose of single-dose vaccines, such as Johnson & Johnson.
Researchers in Norway conducted a study with 111 guests out of 117 guests from a party on November 26, 2021 at which there was an Omicron outbreak.
Among the interviewed group, 66 had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 probable cases, according to Maryam Zakir Hussain, a reporter for The Independent.
Of the 111 participants, 89% received two doses of a messenger DNA (mRNA) vaccine—such as Pfizer or Moderna—and none received a booster (a third).
According to the findings, published in the journal Eurosurveillance, there were 8 main symptoms experienced by the entire vaccinated group infected with Omicron:
cough
Runny nose
Tired
Sore throat
headache
muscle pain
fever
sneezing
The study found that coughing, runny nose and fatigue were among the most common symptoms in vaccinated people, while sneezing and fever were less common.
Public health experts also add nausea to this list of symptoms in vaccinated people who have had the omicron mutant.
Although the vaccine protects against more severe symptoms of the virus, it is still possible to get COVID-19 even if you receive the booster dose.
The mild nature of symptoms makes it difficult for people to distinguish between the virus and the common cold.
But, according to Professor Tim Spector in Britain, about 50% of "new colds" currently are, in fact, Covid.
Two early warning signs may mean you have Omicron
Experts also suggest that two distinct symptoms could be a sign that you have Omicron:
Tired
Dizziness or fainting
Tired
It may develop into more than just feeling tired, it can translate into physical pain by causing inflammation or muscle weakness, headaches, and even blurry vision and loss of appetite.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and president of the South African Medical Association, said fatigue was one of the main symptoms of Omicron when it spread in the country.
In fact, 40% of women reported feeling tired from COVID-19 compared to a third of men, according to a WebMD survey that asked users how often they felt tired from December 23 to January 4.
dizziness
Dizziness or fainting is the second sign that you may have Omicron.
A new report from Germany has suggested a link between fainting spells and omicron, after doctors in Berlin discovered that Covid was causing recurrent fainting spells in a 35-year-old hospitalized patient.
And the Independent report - mentioned above - said that doctors can see a "clear link" between infection and fainting spells.
Is the world finally getting close to returning to normalcy?
Two years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic was officially declared, is the world finally close to returning to normal life?
An answer that seems impossible due to the large number of doubts, especially the emergence of new mutations.
And the American researcher Christopher Murray, a specialist in global health, announced in the magazine "The Lancet" in January that "Covid-19 will continue to spread, but the end of the epidemic is near," according to a report by the French Press Agency.
These statements summarize the state of mind of health authorities in many countries at the beginning of 2022, two years after the World Health Organization officially classified Covid as a pandemic.
In Europe, countries such as Denmark and the United Kingdom have lifted most of the restrictions from the mandatory placement of masks, quarantining the infected and providing the health certificate.
The idea now is the ability to “live with” the Corona virus, because it has become much less deadly than it was in its beginnings thanks to the effectiveness of vaccines and the recent emergence of the Omicron mutant that is less dangerous than its predecessors.
Is the Corona pandemic over?
This may be the end of the pandemic, or at least the end of its "dangerous phase", according to the World Health Organization, which considers this outcome possible in the middle of this year.
The term now appears more often in public discourse: a transition to "a phase in which the spread continues while the number of cases remains more or less stable".
But the idea remains a mystery, and some scientists fear it could be used to justify excessive relaxation.
And virologist Aris Katzurakis warned at the end of January in the journal "Nature", citing malaria and tuberculosis, that "the disease can be endemic and remain fatal and widespread."
What is Corona, the 2022 version?
The term “Coronavirus 2022” means the Corona virus that we expect to continue in 2022, and how it will affect the world.
The French Agency's report indicates that there is debate about the "epidemiological" or "endemic" nature of the 2022 version of Covid, and epidemiologists put forward at least 3 or 4 scenarios.
Thus, the British Scientific Council in February developed 4 scenarios for the coming years.
The most optimistic scenario predicts small localized foci of Covid that are more prevalent than seasonal influenza.
As for the worst-case scenario, it speaks of particularly deadly waves, which require the re-imposition of restrictions.
This set of scenarios mainly depends on two uncertainties: the emergence of new, moderately dangerous mutations, and the ability of vaccines to provide long-term protection against disease.
The issue of mutants explains the fear of many epidemiologists about “living with it” and recommends trying to avoid the spread of the virus as much as possible, even if the “zero Covid” strategy now seems highly unrealistic given the high infection of Omicron.
They pointed out that the wide spread gives the virus a greater opportunity to transform into new mutants, without being able to predict their severity.
"We often hear the misconception that viruses become less dangerous over time," Katzourakis says.
And he continues, "It is not like that, nothing is causing the virus to develop in this way."
What is the effectiveness of vaccines against mutants?
This is another ambiguous question.
Vaccines against Covid have largely made epidemics less dangerous, but will they retain this effectiveness?
Omicron's appearance sounds like a warning and a test, as the mutant partially escapes existing vaccines that are not very effective at preventing infection.
Admittedly, and this is essential, they still prevent dangerous forms of the epidemic, but the loss of efficacy casts doubt on the future vaccination strategy.
Should the booster doses now be doubled regularly after the initial vaccinations?
The "third dose", which has shown its importance to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines, has become widespread in many countries.
But the "fourth" dose has so far been recommended only in a few countries such as Sweden, and many experts are skeptical of repeated booster doses as a short-sighted strategy.
Should we instead seek to adapt vaccines to each new dominant mutant?
This was the promise of the innovative mRNA technology behind the development of the first COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna.
It was supposed to allow, through its flexibility, the rapid adaptation of vaccines.
But in reality, nothing came out of the labs while the omicron waves were scattered vigorously.
The first results are very preliminary because the tests were performed on animals and have not been independently reviewed, and do not indicate that these updated vaccines are more effective than their predecessors.
Nevertheless, there is still a promising path: the development of vaccines that target, on a larger scale, resistance to the emergence of new mutants or even able to protect against viruses other than those behind Covid.
However, such vaccines face significant scientific challenges, and the first projects are just beginning their clinical trials.
Meanwhile, epidemiologists insist on the urgent need to share current doses with countries where vaccination is still underdeveloped in order to avoid new outbreaks of epidemics in the world.
Where did COVID-19 come from?
Researchers continue to work to determine the original source of the COVID-19 virus.
A recent study conducted by the Pasteur Institute indicates that the virus transmitted directly from bats to humans, without ruling out the possibility of a relationship between the spread of the virus and the Chinese laboratory in Wuhan.
In a report published by the French newspaper "Leparisien", writers Florence Meriot and Elsa Marie say that research teams in two laboratories affiliated with the Pasteur Institute in Paris are working hard to track the path of the epidemic.
And the French virologist Jean-Claude Manugera is the only French scientist among the 26 scientists chosen by the World Health Organization to unravel the mystery of this epidemic, and their task is to "identify and direct studies on the origins of corona viruses, including SARS Cove-2 (the scientific name of the Corona virus), because eliminating the virus requires Understand how it evolved and its origin", which will help avoid future epidemics.
According to this scientist - who currently heads the Department of Emergency Biological Intervention at the Pasteur Institute - a large part of "our work is to read and share all scientific documents in the world to avoid missing any hypothesis."
innocent pangolin
The French scientist explained, "Because we had to understand its mode of transmission to humans and the clinical harm it caused, we did not search for the origin of the virus enough. In this case, it is important to have the necessary means and resources to accurately determine its origin."
At the onset of the epidemic, fingers were pointed at animals such as raccoon dogs, wild mink and golden hamsters, but today suspicion is hovering over bats.
Professor Mark Elois, head of the Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, had co-published a study in the prestigious “Nature” journal showing that direct transmission of the virus from bats to humans is “possible.”
This possibility prompted researchers to reconsider previous hypotheses, one of which suspects that pangolins are responsible for the virus outbreak.
The research included 645 bats living in a cave in Laos with terrain similar to those in China.
Local researchers have discovered 3 coronaviruses, one of which has similar characteristics to the circulating virus, and it was found that it is able to infect human cells, just like SARS-CoV-2.
Are bats to blame?
How did the virus spread to humans?
How did it pass from bats that live in caves 2,500 kilometers to humans in central Wuhan?
Is the presence of a virology laboratory conducting research on coronaviruses in this city just a coincidence?
According to Professor Eloah, "a relationship between the spread of the virus and laboratory activity cannot be excluded."
This possibility results in several hypotheses, one of which is direct, indicating that "the virus infection was transmitted to one of the researchers working in the laboratory, who transmitted it while communicating with some residents of the city."
The second indirect hypothesis is that laboratory staff "visited those caves to take samples and then returned to their families with the virus."