Thread by @yaneerbaryam

Global Response to Omicron Variant: Better but needs to be stronger.

@TheWHN worldhealthnetwork.global/omicron

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Nov 27, 2021: In response to the new variant outbreak growing in the southern part of the African continent, Europe as a unit, the US and many other countries, have limited travel from South Africa and adjacent countries.

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The World Health Network thanks South Africa for sounding the alarm and congratulates countries for responding rapidly, much faster and more decisively than with the original spread of the Coronavirus and the successive variants.

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The new variant has been rapidly growing in an expanding region of Johannesburg leading to an increase from 1% to 30% in positivity in just two weeks. This increase is likely due to both evasion of prior immunity as well as a higher underlying transmissibility.

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Locally the effective R value increased from less than 1 to almost 2 in less than a month

The variant has many more mutations than previous variants, at least 30 of which are reported to be associated with the spike protein, potentially allowing evasion of prior immunity..

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..whether due to infection or vaccination. Beta had three mutations in the critical receptor binding area, Delta had two, Omicron has ten.

An infected traveler to Hong Kong is reported to have infected another in a room across the hall...

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One of two travelers to Belgium came there infected from Egypt. Five infected travelers arriving in Israel included one arriving from Malawi. These travelers included transits in Turkey, Dubai, Ethiopia and Jordan.

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Although empirical data is still lacking, Omicron’s extensive mutations imply a high risk that this variant evades vaccine immunity, which would bring us back to square one, but with a much faster spreading virus.

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What is to be done to prevent Omicron from spreading?

Given that the Omicron variant may at least partially evade the protection offered by vaccines, it is important that all countries expand public health and social measures to limit COVID-19 transmission.

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The public must be warned about the importance of public health measures in addition to vaccination to safeguard their own health and family members’.

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These measures include mask use, ventilation and filtration and other airborne precautions, as well as physical distancing to reduce transmission; and testing and contact tracing to limit the size of clusters.

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It is crucial that all countries introduce risk-based border controls. These measures include:

Implementing travel restrictions from all countries with known or suspected cases.

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Introducing universal quarantine and at least 2 testings (at arrival and exit) for travel across borders, for example, requiring a minimum 10 days quarantined in a government facility, pre-travel PCR tests, and testing on arrival and during quarantine

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Expanding contact tracing to identify all persons who may have come in contact with the traveller since his/her entry through establishment of Omicron specific surveillance

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Creating awareness and increased voluntary disclosure of travel to affected countries, especially during the last two weeks, through involvement of Media.

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South Africa’s early warning should be acknowledged and help should be provided to them with the challenge of responding to the Omicron outbreak.

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Contacts:
US: @DrEricDing @nntaleb
France: @CecPhil
Germany: @M_F_Schneider
Iberoamerica: @cgg_mx
India: Sunil Raina
New Zealand: Michael Baker
Israel: @Meir_Rubin
Canada: @smbilodeau
Taiwan: @ShutiChiou
Norway: @GANyborg

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