China News Service, July 21 (Zhang Mingxin) Recently, the Omicron subtype strains BA.4 and BA.5 set off another global epidemic climax.
Since many countries have successively lifted epidemic restrictions and the two strains have stronger transmission capabilities, the number of new crown infections in many countries such as Europe, America and Asia has risen sharply.
Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Alpha, Beta, Delta and other mutant strains have ravaged the world in turn.
In the current complex situation of rising vaccination rates and loose epidemic prevention restrictions, will the more "unique" BA.4 and BA.5 strains make the world "deep in the epidemic mire" again?
On July 13, local time, people in Los Angeles, the United States wore masks while riding the subway.
This wave of epidemic rebounds, who are the "culprits"?
At present, the Omicron subtype strains BA.4 and BA.5 are spreading rapidly, making the global epidemic, especially in Europe and the United States, have a "rising" trend.
According to data from the World Health Organization on the 12th, in the previous two weeks, the number of new crown cases reported globally increased by 30%.
Currently, the Omicron BA.5 strain is dominating the outbreak in the United States.
A total of 2,421 counties in the United States are listed as medium and high risk areas by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 85% of Americans live in these areas.
Under the strong influence of the epidemic, the US government extended the new crown public health emergency for another three months in the middle of this month.
The BA.5 strain is also spreading rapidly in the Americas.
The Pan American Health Organization recently reported that at least 22 countries in the region have found the BA.5 strain, which is expected to become the main strain circulating in the Americas in the next few weeks.
The European epidemic also deteriorated rapidly due to the raging of the mutant strain of Omicron.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the 15th, about 3.5 million people in the UK were infected with the new crown in the previous week, an increase of nearly 30% from 2.7 million the previous week.
The ONS said this could be due to an increase in infections of the Omicron variant strains BA.4 and BA.5.
In addition, the epidemic situation in many European countries is severe: France ushered in the seventh wave of the epidemic due to the raging of the Omicron variant, and the number of new confirmed cases in a single day once exceeded 200,000; the daily number of new confirmed cases of new crown in Italy has rebounded to nearly 100,000 cases.
Data map: Affected by the new crown epidemic in Tokyo, Japan, a hotel employee showed the media a dining shield designed to maintain a safe social distance.
Image source: Visual China
In Asia, the number of new cases in a single day in Japan has exceeded the 100,000 mark for several consecutive days; the number of new infections in India has also reached the highest level in four months.
The number of people hospitalized due to the new crown in Australia on the 20th is close to a "record level"; the number of new crown cases in New Zealand has also increased significantly in the past few weeks, putting great pressure on the country's medical system.
The strain is rampant, what's next?
What is the origin of the Omikron BA.4 and BA.5 strains that started the current round of the global epidemic?
As subtype variants of the new coronavirus Omicron, the BA.4 and BA.5 strains share a common origin with earlier Omicron strains, but are more likely to spread and evade immunity.
According to Nature, the BA.4 and BA.5 strains are more similar to the previous BA.2 strain, but both carry their own unique mutations, including changes in the viral spike protein called L452R and F486V.
Moreover, these mutations may alter its ability to lock onto host cells and evade certain immune responses.
Since 2022, many countries around the world have successively lifted epidemic restrictions and corresponding prevention and control measures, which has also facilitated the rapid spread of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains.
Some countries have to face a severe epidemic situation: the number of infected people has increased exponentially, the medical system has been challenged, and patients who have recovered from the new crown are re-infected...
Now that the epidemic situation in European countries is heating up again, the new crown testing work has been reduced at the same time.
Kruger, the WHO's regional director for Europe, predicted that "the European region will face a challenging autumn and winter."
On June 15, local time, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued a statement saying that Fauci, the director of the institute and the chief medical adviser of the White House, tested positive for the new crown virus that day.
The data picture shows Fauci attending a congressional hearing in March 2020.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also urged Americans not to let their guard down.
He believes that the number of infections in the United States is clearly underestimated, because many people test at home and do not report whether they are infected.
In particular, he warned of a possible surge in cases in the U.S. between the fall and winter of 2022.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also expressed concern about this round of epidemics, saying, "I am worried that the number of new crown cases will continue to rise, which will put pressure on the strained medical system and medical workers, and I am also worried that the number of deaths is rising. trend".
Tedros said, "The new round of epidemics once again shows that the new crown pandemic is far from over." (End)