Researchers from several scientific communities are looking for answers related to the circumstances that will arise when both Delta and Omicron start infecting. The lab data that is a result of ongoing research on the virus says that Omicron may be the ray of hope everybody has been looking for.
New Research: Omicron May Offer Protection Against Delta
The Omicron variant can help people avert Delta infection. The same has been corroborated by scientists from South Africa, saying that the antibodies developed from Omicron have helped protect against Delta.
Moreover, Omicron tends to have a less severe effect, so it may have a positive side. The variant has already overwhelmed the healthcare systems and facilities, but it still offers some hope. The Omicron variant seems to be milder, so that it may take longer to control, but its implications may be far-reaching.
The hospitalizations could go down in the longer term as well, as against the infection caused by Delta. A renowned virologist from Africa said that the Omicron variant can push Delta out. The Omicron variant also seems to be less alarming and serious. Moreover, it can be something that people can live with or get habituated with.
The information was published on the said institute’s website but has yet to undergo peer review. The Delta had entered the scene last summer and it had evaded immunity and caused mediocre complications in patients. It had also moderately evaded vaccination and immunity produced by previous versions of the virus.
Omicron emerged in South Africa first in November. It also spread faster than Delta and has been known to infect people who have taken vaccines or have antibodies due to a previous infection. However, till now it has caused mild symptoms. The recent reports released by the CDC states that at least 59% of the cases in the U.S. are due to the Omicron variant.
Many studies conducted on the blood samples of the patients, who were infected with Delta confirmed that it offered little protection against the new variant. But, the Virologist Sigal believes that the new Omicron variant can provide full protection against the current and Delta variant. Omicron may also have a positive reaction on other variants as well.
However, scientists are not too sure about the probabilities and prospects of the infection. Everybody is keeping their fingers crossed on the same. A recent study involving 13 scientists gave their samples to further substantiate such studies. The participants were a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The Delta and Omicron variant’s effects were tested on the blood samples.
The Omicron variant tends to multiply rapidly, whereas the Delta changes route and declines. Across the Atlantic currently, the Delta cases seem to diminish in numbers while the Omicron cases surge. Thus, this trend shows that the Omicron variant outsmarts the Delta variant in many cases across the region. It sort of outcompetes the Delta and drives down the cases.
It might have also been possible that the new variant increased the immunity in some participants pertaining to the earlier infection of vaccination. However, what it does to unvaccinated individuals is still not clear.
Carl Pearson, a British epidemiologist, is of the opinion that there will be a different variant of the virus each year. And it could be reduced to something as minute as flu. On the other hand, several variants can come up and co-exist together, by evading the earlier antibodies. That is what happens to other seasonal viruses now. The least likely could be one final variant that does not mutate, however, that may be thought and not reality.
