Around the world, at least 16 countries have reported cases of Ômicron variant infection. Considered a strain of concern by the WHO, it “has a large number of mutations, some of which are of concern. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant compared to other variants of concern.”
In an interview with CNN, the epidemiologist at the Federal University of Pelotas, Pedro Hallal, said that, despite the initial information sounding worrying, “it seems that we have bad news in terms of transmission, it spreads very fast. On the other hand, we have preliminary evidence that she may not be as aggressive.”
“One thing is how fast the virus can replicate and how much it changes, another thing is how severe it can infect.”
According to Hallal, it is not yet known how the mutation responds to vaccines, and that in the case of the Brazilian population, which is advanced in immunization, “it is not known if it will be able to spread so quickly”.
The infectious disease specialist also said that he does not think it is necessary to close the borders completely now, but to keep tourism going, the “vaccination passport has to be seen as something normal”.
“This discovery of the variant does not mean that it appeared yesterday. It’s probably been around for some time now.”
Reference: CNN Brasil
