Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant: What scientists know so far

Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant: What scientists know so far

The Omicron appears to be a concern today. This virus is very popular among us and has caught our attention due to its unusual mutations. Some are rare and have never existed before.

In late November, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified this variant as a point of concern. A growing number of the cases are being reported across the country at the moment.

But what do we know about this virus so far?

What is the Omicron variant?

Mutations of a virus are inevitable. A new SARS-CoV-2 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529), was reported to WHO on 24 November 2021 from South Africa, raising alarms among researchers and the global community.

In the bronchi (lung airways), Omicron replicates 70 times faster than Delta, but evidence suggests it is less severe than previous strains.

How did it get its name?

Omicron is the Greek letter “O”, and was named after the 15th letter of the alphabet.

The World Health Organization name the virus as omicron to makes public communication easier, less confusing, and stigma. If using scientific names for the variants, it can be difficult to say and recall. They want it to be simple and accessible to others.

Here are the five current variants:

Alpha – B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom)
Beta – B.1.351 (South Africa)
Gamma – P.1 (Brazil)
Delta – B.1.617.2 (India)
Omicron – B.1.1.529 (South Africa)

The Delta variant is currently the dominant strain all over the world.

Where does the Omicron come from?

This variant is found in South Africa. Over the past few weeks, the Omicron version is spreading throughout the world, faster than any previously known variant.

What are the signs and symptoms of Omicron?

The Omicron variant can infecting person with the symptoms that are similar to the previous covid-19.

All of the variants, including delta and omicron, cause similar COVID-19 symptoms, like cough, fever, and fatigue. There is some evidence that fewer people is losing their taste and smell. Besides that, this virus less likely to causing pneumonia that may require oxygen treatments in the hospital.

Symptoms of Omicron variant

Based on the analysis, neither Delta nor Omicron showing any clear differences in symptom profiles. About 50% experience common signs such as fever, cough, and loss of taste or smell.

Dr. Rahul Sharma from the emergency physician-in-chief at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center said “We’re seeing a lot of sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and mild headache,”.

How fast Omicron spread compared with other variants?

Omicron variants are spreading two or three times faster than Delta.

The earliest evidence for the rapid spread is from South Africa, where it is growing rapidly to dominate one region after another. In other countries, researchers view the cases are doubling every 2 to 4 days.

As a result, the country recording 3,402 cases on 26 November. Then on December 1, it increased to 8,561 cases.

The omicron variant is it more severe than other covid-19 variants?

Bollinger said, “For omicron, there is less data on this,”

Moreover, Omicron is a mutant virus that is still in early stages. World Health Organization classifying Omicron as a Variant of Concern (VOC). This mutation increase transmissibility, and disease severity.

For your information, Omicron is mutated with 43 spike protein mutations compared to Delta is about 18 spikes.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

Early findings suggest that there is a reduced risk of hospitalization for Omicron variant. According to the WHO, an increase in transmission can lead to more hospitalizations.

Thus, it is important to remember that all variants of COVID-19 can cause severe disease or may result in death. Our responsible is preventing the spread and reducing the risk of exposure to the virus is so important right now.

This variant is spreading and infecting other countries. For further study, they need to conduct more research to collect various types of data. The Omicron cases are rising, so the large size of sample such as geographical for researchers can increase a chance for generalizing early reports.

Meanwhile, scientists measured the severity of a coronavirus variant by examining the number of people infected in the hospital. The Delta variant turned out to be much worse than the Omicron variant.

A British study found that the risk of hospitalization due to Omicron is half of the delta.

Is the covid-19 vaccine effective against omicron?

Scientists are studying any potential effects of Omicron variants on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Information is still scarce. However, the effectiveness of vaccines against mild, severe illness and death, may be declining.

Moreover, the WHO reports that, so far, the booster vaccines available provide significant protection against serious disease and death.

For now, it is important to be vaccinated to protect against Omicron and other variants. So, when your turn to get vaccinated make sure you get the doses in order to have the maximum protection to protect yourself and those around you.

Do current boosters provide better protection against omicron?

Yes. Because several studies show that people with full vaccination plus a booster shot have strong protection against the Omicron variant. Without a booster shot, two doses of a vaccine-like Pfizer-BioNTech’s or Moderna’s became less protection to our immune system.

Covid-19 Booster

To see whether the booster improves protection or not, scientists collect blood from patients who are fully vaccine and mix their antibodies with Omicron in a petri dish containing human cells.

Consequently, every vaccine tested so far has performed worse at neutralizing Omicron than other variants. Not only that, antibodies from people who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine do not seem to have any effect on Omicron at all.

But when researchers tested antibodies from people who had received boosters of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, they saw a different picture. Many Omicron viruses were blocked from infecting cells by boosted antibodies.

The researchers found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had a 80% efficacy against Omicron infection.

Can vaccines reduce the severity of Covid?

As I mentioned above, in a large study of more than a million cases of Covid, British researchers found that people who had received booster doses were 81 percent less likely to be admitted to the hospital, compared to people who have not been vaccinated yet.

Those who had received two doses of vaccine had a 65% lower risk of being admitted to a hospital.

How antibodies fight Omicron variant?

Additionally, even people who have had vaccines may be at risk of infection with Omicron. For instance, the variant can evade antibodies produced by vaccines and multiply in the nose and throat. But vaccines not only trigger the production of antibodies against coronavirus, they also stimulate the growth of T cells that help fight a specific disease.

T cells antibody

T cells learn to recognize when other cells are infected with specific viruses and destroy the pathogen. As a result, the infection becomes slow.

To determine how well the Covid-19 vaccine fight Omicron, scientists do research on T cells that produce by the vaccine. Researchers found that these T cells are able to recognize the Omicron variants.

In addition, this preliminary evidence indicates that Omicron infections enable to penetrate the T-cell barrier. By killing infected cells, T cells may make it harder for Omicron to reach into the airway inside the lung tissue.

Are the current covid-19 tests detecting the omicron variant?

Commercial diagnostic PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and available antigen COVID tests can be uses to identify and detect the omicron variant. And yet, we will know more in the coming weeks about how well the rapid at-home tests to detect a new variant.

How long does omicron last on surfaces?

The WHO states that COVID can be transmitted through close personal contact as well as through aerosols in crowded areas and poorly ventilated environments.

Furthermore, people can get the viruses by touching their eyes, nose, or mouth after coming into contact with contaminated objects or surfaces.

Japanese researchers found that Omicron is the most easily transmitted variant of SARS-CoV-2, but a new study found this virus survives longer than any previous variant on plastic surfaces and skin.

Hence, Omicron stays on plastic for about 8 days and on the skin for less than 24 hours.

What can we do to protect ourselves and our families from the omicron variant?

The most important thing we can do is reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. Make the following precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones:

Wear proper mask

Wear masks that meet a standard with multiple layers of non-woven material such as a 3ply face mask that covers your nose and mouth. Make sure that your hands are clean when you put on and remove your mask.

Physical distance

Keeping a distance of one meter helps limit the spread of COVID-19. Recommended by the World Health Organization.

Avoid poorly ventilated and crowded spaces.

Indoor air quality, ventilation, and occupancy have become growing concerns in the battle to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Open windows to improve ventilation indoors.

If it’s safe to do so, open doors and windows as much as possible to let in fresh air from outside.

Wash your hands regularly.

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during this pandemic.

Get a shot

When it’s your turn, get vaccinated. WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

Do Covid tests

Performing Covid tests at home regularly using a device that can detect variants

Precautions such as those outlined above will help prevent the spread of Omicron.

After all, researchers are trying to understand the Omicron variant. “We still have a lot to learn about omicron,” Ray said. WHO will continue to closely monitor the Omicron variant and update it with more information.

In order to protect ourselves from being infected with this virus, we need to do a covid test when we feel unwell or meet a lot of people.

However, test devices can be inaccurate, you should use the one recommended by the WHO. You can buy it at any pharmacy and medical supplier like Mayflax. Mayflax provides a covid-19 self-test kit and you can purchase with us. If you want to know more, click here.

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About the author

Raihan Ridzuan

Bachelor of Science (Hons) Pharmacology, is a Customer Relationship Executive of Mayflax, one of the nation’s leading healthcare and marketing companies.

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February 15, 2022March 15, 2022

How Compliance Packaging Can Improve High-risk Patient Medication Adherence

There is a staggering percentage of people who don’t take their medication correctly, but pharmaceutical packaging aims to enhance patient compliance by using new technology to identify the causes of non-adherence.

Medication adherence plays a vital role in the prevention and successful management of chronic diseases, especially in high-risk patients. Compliance packaging is a key tool for managing this groups.

In healthcare, non-adherence to prescription drugs contributes to morbidity, and mortality. Poor medication adherence increases the likelihood of preventable disease progression, avoidable doctor, and can lead to increase health care costs.

“Drugs will not work if they are not taken,” says Dr. Axelrod. An estimated half of patients with a chronic illness struggle with medication adherence.

Besides, compliance packaging is low-cost, and it’s convenience for patient to follow the prescriptions by doctor. Using compliance packaging, such as blister packs and dosage strips, helps synchronize medication refills, and enhances accessibility.

Compliance packaging

How compliance packaging works

Health systems have a good opportunity to provide a compliance package to patients, but most of them do not offer. They usually pack manually or semi-automatically for a limited time but there are a few health systems that have embraced full automation of compliance packaging on their own.

Compliance packaging, also known as adherence packaging, combines all of a patient’s medications into a single package, for examples, blister packs or pouches. As a result, it easier for them to follow their medication schedule.

Blister packs

To sort all the patient’s medication, the machine will do the process. The machine will organize patient’s medications according to the prescribed dosage, time, frequency, and direction.

That makes it easier for the patient to take the right drugs at the right time. Thus, it is an effective way to manage chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

Patients with life-threatening conditions has greater risk of medication non-adherence. For instance, patients with HIV, hepatitis C, or a heart condition must comply to the medications.

Medication adherence packaging

Medication adherence packaging is rapidly growing in community pharmacies nationally. Pharmacists play a leading role in supporting medication adherence.

The services often include packaging medications as either single-dose or multi-dose packs, which allows the medications to be filled at the same time each month.

Furthermore, medication packs are designed to facilitate medication administration. The packaging are organized according to morning, noon, dinner, and bedtime dosing.

The majority of community pharmacies that offer medication adherence packaging services also provide patient contact services, such as phone calls. It is to identify and resolve medication-related problems and confirm the patient’s current drugs regimen. In addition, they will send an SMS reminder for the upcoming recharge.

The Challenges of Medication Adherence for High-Risk Patients

Medication adherence is highly related to daily routine, and patients need to take drugs as indicated. Patients will miss the doses, when they need to manage their own medications with 8 or 10 different medicines every day.

Furthermore, the researchers found that 62% of polypharmacy members sometimes forgot to take their medications as prescribed. Then, 37% ran out of drugs before they could renew them, and 23% admitted that they had not paid enough attention to how they were taking their drugs.

Benefits for patients and payers

The compliance package is good for any patient who must take medication several times a day because of their chronic diseases. Thus, patients most likely to benefit from compliance packaging are those whose caregivers may be far or too busy to manage family members’ medications.

Makes it easier for patients to get all their medications in one container and delivered directly to their home.
It’s easy for patients to take drugs without having to remember unnecessary things.
Create a seamless care network by improving coordination between prescribers and pharmacists, eliminating gaps in care that can exacerbate health outcomes.
Results in a better patient experience which improves engagement and health outcomes.

Benefits for your health system

i. Patient loyalty.

Patients who have a good experience with compliance packaging are more likely to return when they require care in the future.

ii. Prescription refills.

The compliance packaging provide beneficial way that will encourage and ease the patents to refill their medications at your center.

However, compliance packaging is a cost-effective way to support better medication adherence for high-risk patients. A medication adherence plan can help members achieve long-term health goals and avoid financial waste by implementing more intuitive and proactive medication management strategies.

Considering both the clinical and business benefits of compliance packaging, I believe most health systems will do compliance packaging by themselves or through a third party within the next five years.

Will your system be one of them?

Pillplan is one of the pharmaceutical healthcare that provides compliance packaging to the customer. PillPlan is helping Malaysians stay healthy by making medication easier to access and manage. If you want to know more info about PillPlan please check it out here!

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