By increasing the authorized gatherings from December 23 to 20 vaccinated people, the Legault government does not hide that an “uncertainty” remains: that of the Omicron variant. If only one case has so far been detected in Quebec, what does its transmission look like in the rest of the world? And what do we know so far about this variant? Overview in five points.
Cases examined in Quebec
In the screening of about 900 cases that was done in November by the National Institute of Public Health, there were no cases of the Omicron variant. Apart from the case confirmed last week, this strain is therefore not currently in large circulation in the province. ” That’s very good news. However, there are a few cases that are under investigation. We are following that very closely, ”nevertheless recalled Tuesday the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, before adding:“ We will perhaps have to work with the Omicron after the Holidays ”, a sign that the situation could evolve rapidly. “You have to learn to live with COVID, […] because Omicron is still with us for a while, ”also insisted Mr. Dubé.
“Almost certain”
In the United States, popular American scientist Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that it is “almost certain” that the Omicron variant does not cause more severe cases of COVID-19 than Delta, adding that it would be necessary to wait another “two weeks at least ”to see if it turns out to be even less dangerous. The fact remains, however, that Omicron is “clearly highly transmissible,” probably more than Delta, and also has a higher rate of re-infections, said Dr.r Fauci. This new variant, which is now present in nearly 40 countries around the world, would also probably escape vaccine immunity better, preliminary data show.
On the European continent
In Europe, where the variant is more established, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has notably tripled in just 48 hours. As of Tuesday, just over 210 cases of the Omicron variant had been confirmed with certainty in the European Union and associated countries, such as Iceland and Norway. The European Commission has also called on its members to standardize their movement restrictions to “guarantee predictability to citizens”. “Sixty-six percent of Europeans are now fully vaccinated, but faced with more contagious variants, this is not enough”, also insisted Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, during a meeting of European health ministers in Brussels.
What we do not yet know precisely
Like most variants, it takes time for the scientific community around the world to accurately determine the exact characteristics of a variant. In the United States, the results of laboratory experiments on the efficacy of antibodies from current vaccines against the Omicron variant should be known in the coming days or within a week. Globally, however, it is still unclear exactly how this variant might react to vaccines. The Pfizer company, however, has already indicated that the development of a new vaccine may be necessary to deal with it. Studies in South Africa, where the variant first emerged, should be interpreted with great caution, however, as the low vaccination coverage of only 24% risks complicating generalizations with the rest of the world.
In Ontario, call for caution
In our neighbors Ontario, experts who advise the government said Tuesday that they could not “predict Omicron with precision”, but that it is “almost certain that it will hit us hard and quickly”. That said, “COVID-19 will almost certainly increase until January, before Omicron even hits us full force,” the panel wrote. According to them, “too many Ontarians are not fully immunized and will end up in hospital.” According to the committee’s predictions, the intensive care occupancy rate will increase over the next month, “probably exceeding” 250 patients by the end of this month – without even taking into account the Omicron variant.
With The Canadian Press and Agence France-Presse