China News Service, November 29, reported that recently, the "Omi Keron" mutant strain has attracted global attention, and many countries have successively upgraded their epidemic prevention measures to actively respond.

The WHO said on the 28th that it is still unclear whether the Omi Kiron strain will cause more serious diseases. It is cooperating with experts to understand the impact of the Omi Kiron strain on current epidemic prevention measures, including vaccination.

Data map: The picture shows the WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus's speech taken in Berlin, Germany.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

Is the Omi Keron strain more infectious?

WHO says it has yet to be clarified

  According to reports, the WHO said that it is unclear whether the Omi Keron strain will cause more serious diseases or be more infectious than other variants derived from SARS-CoV-2.

The WHO said: "Preliminary data show that the hospitalization rate in South Africa has increased, but this may be due to the increase in the overall number of infected people, rather than specific infections of the Omi Keron strain."

  The WHO statement also reiterated that based on the preliminary evidence analysis, the risk of reinfection caused by this mutant strain may be higher.

The WHO stated that it is cooperating with experts to understand the impact of the Omi Keron strain on current epidemic prevention measures, including vaccination.

  The WHO said: "The initial confirmed cases reported in the university studies show that the young patients are still mildly ill, but it will take several days to several weeks to explore the severity of the Omi Keron strain."

  The WHO also said that PCR is continuing to screen confirmed cases, and related research is still being carried out to determine whether the Omi Kiron strain has any impact on rapid antigen detection.

Data map: September 27 news. Recently, South Africa sent a train carrying the new crown vaccine to one of its poorest provinces to deliver vaccines to areas with tight medical facilities.

This vaccine train, called Transvaco, travels for three months in the Eastern Cape and stops at each of seven stations for two weeks to vaccinate people.

Many countries are ready to upgrade prevention and control

South Africa announced that it will maintain the first-level ban level unchanged 

  On November 28, local time, South African President Ramaphosa gave a televised speech on the variant strain of the new coronavirus, announcing that South Africa will still maintain the first-level ban.

At the same time, he once again called on the people of South Africa to actively vaccinate.

  After the discovery of confirmed cases of the Omi Keron strain in many European countries, the British government called on the Group of Seven Industrial Countries (G7) to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the current epidemic crisis.

Britain is currently the rotating presidency of the G7.

  The United Kingdom is one of the countries that announced that patients were infected with the Omi Keron strain. Others include Germany and Italy. Most European countries have banned passenger flights from many countries in southern Africa.

Among them, the Dutch authorities reported on the 28th that at least 13 cases of Omi Keron strain infection were detected on two flights from South Africa to the Netherlands, and the number of infections may increase in the future.

  Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that starting on the 28th, three African countries, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia, will be included in the strengthening of epidemic prevention measures at border ports.

Regarding the Omi Keron strain, he said that he "is responding with a strong sense of crisis and will effectively take countermeasures at border ports."

  South Korea’s Central Epidemic Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters held an emergency meeting with 13 relevant departments on the same day and decided to prohibit foreigners from eight countries including South Africa from entering South Korea to prevent the Omi Keron strain from entering the country.

Data map: On April 12, local time, the UK’s third nationwide epidemic lockdown entered the second stage of "unblocking". Commercial institutions such as non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, barber shops and gyms lasted nearly three months. After the closure, the reopening of the company attracted a "consumption wave".

The picture shows the flow of people on Oxford Street, the commercial center of London.

Photo by Zhang Mengqi issued by China News Agency

What are the symptoms of being infected with the Omi Keron strain?

Is the existing new crown vaccine still useful?

  According to reports, a South African doctor who warned about the Omi Keron strain pointed out that dozens of patients she had contacted who were suspected of having this new variant showed only mild symptoms and had fully recovered without hospitalization.

  The president of the South African Medical Association said that in the past 10 days, she had contacted about 30 patients who tested positive for coronary disease, but their symptoms were different from the previous variant.

She said: "These patients have a symptom of extreme fatigue, which is unusual for young patients."

  She said that most of the patients are men under the age of 40, and less than half of them have been vaccinated.

They also have mild muscle aches, an itchy throat, and a dry cough.

Only a few people have fever.

She said these mild symptoms are different from other variants, which have more severe symptoms.

  Regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine, Burton, the chief medical officer of the new crown vaccine manufacturer Modena, said on the 28th that he suspects that the new Omi Kiron strain may avoid the current vaccine.

He said that the new and improved vaccine may be on the market in early 2022.

  He said: "If we have to develop a brand-new vaccine, I think it will be mass-produced in early 2022." He said: "As a non-messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine, Modena is great. Yes, we can respond very quickly."

  Burton said that the current vaccine protection against the virus should still exist, but it depends on how long ago a person was vaccinated.

The best advice right now is to get the existing new crown vaccine.

  In addition, the German new biotech company, which is co-developing vaccines with the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, issued a statement a few days ago, saying: "If necessary, new vaccines against new strains can be released within about 100 days." Vaccine development companies Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca Etc. also said that relevant vaccine investigations are being conducted.