PAHO: Don’t panic over Omicron strain

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PAN American Health Organisation officials have urged countries in the region to not panic over the new Omicron strain but instead to focus efforts on redoubling virus surveillance and expanding vaccine coverage in view of the new threat.

Speaking during PAHO’s weekly webinar, the organisation’s director, Dr Carissa Etienne said while it’s only a matter of time before the strain spreads throughout the region, there is no need for people to become fearful.

This comes as officials in the United States announced the strain had been confirmed in California, becoming America’s first detected case. The person, who is experiencing mild symptoms, had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and recently returned from South Africa, AP reported.

Dr Etienne said the same preventative tools used in the past to safeguard against previous COVID strains are just as effective today and encouraged all to continue following the public health safety measures.

“Canada and Brazil are the only countries in our region where the Omicron variant has been detected, but it is likely that other countries will begin seeing this new variant in circulation soon,” she said yesterday, before news broke about America’s first case of the strain.

“That’s why it’s important that countries redouble their surveillance efforts, share sequences with the Genomic Surveillance Network of the Americas and report any Omicron cases to the WHO (World Health Organisation). Speed and transparency are especially critical at this time. But above all, we urge people not to be frightened.

“The most important thing people can do to protect themselves is to get vaccinated and to reduce their risk of exposure to the virus. This can be done by wearing masks, maintaining physical distance from others, frequent hand washing, and avoiding crowded spaces, especially indoors. It is important to note that these measures are effective against all variants, including Omicron.”

Regarding the potential impact of the new strain, Dr Etienne said it was too early to determine the virus’ severity or contagiousness as there was still little data known.

“It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease but researchers around the world are actively conducting studies to better understand this variant so we have the best available evidence to guide our actions,” she said.

“The virus still needs to be isolated to conduct neutralisation tests, and this process will take some time. Until these tests and other laboratory assays are completed, we will not have enough evidence to determine the degree of transmissibility or severity of the Omicron variant, or to assess the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines against it.”

In the meantime, she said PAHO will continue to closely monitor other variants in the region, including the Delta variant which she said remains the dominant strain in the Americas.

Concerns about the vaccine’s efficacy against the newly discovered Omicron strain comes as vaccine uptake in many countries, including The Bahamas, continues to wane.

According to Dr Etienne, only 54 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against COVID- 19, making these regions “especially vulnerable”.

“As I’ve said before, vaccine inequity is prolonging the COVID crisis,” she added, “and this is exactly what we’re seeing with the arrival of Omicron. The more COVID-19 circulates, the more opportunities the virus has to mutate and to change. That’s why it is crucial that we expand vaccinations to all.”

The push for vaccinations comes as the government prepares to ramp up its public education campaign, with officials eyeing a goal of 200,000 fully vaccinated citizens by year’s end.

Yesterday, PAHO’s assistant director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said he hopes the country achieves this goal and added that more vaccine doses are expected to arrive in The Bahamas in the days ahead.

He also said: “We are working with countries in the

Caribbean to increase the information, communication and the mobilisation of their population to get vaccinated. The Bahamas has asked COVAX to purchase the vaccines that corresponded to 20 percent of their popu-lation and The Bahamas has already received 158,000 doses that corresponded to this 20 percent. “And now using funds from donations from Canada and from Columbia and using also the national resources, we have persons on behalf of The Bahamas using the alternative by direct purchasing through to the revolving fund and another 96,000 doses will probably arrive in Decem-ber and (another) 48,000 in the first quarter next year so The Bahamas, we hope that you achieve that more than 40 percent using a combination of having more access to vaccines and also explaining and having a good communication strategy to invite people to come to be vaccinated to save lives.” According to the gov-ernment’s latest vaccine tracker, 146,441 people have been fully vacci-nated, while 143,217 people have received at least one vaccine dose (excluding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).

Comments

ColumbusPillow says...

At last a voice of reason in a sea of hysteria.

Posted 2 December 2021, 10:15 p.m. Suggest removal

carltonr61 says...

According to CDC you are no longer fully vaccinated after 4 or five or six months. This charade has folks at the end of their wits down the road with no end in sight. Even Gates seemed to have been silenced by the press for coming forward saying vaccines don't stop transmissions. It is an excessive exercise in fear mongering monetized medical tyranny. More health establishment personally around the world have gotten rich from covid than those in the grave. I wonder who doll up sweet girl.

Posted 2 December 2021, 10:24 p.m. Suggest removal

carltonr61 says...

The vaccine maketeers selling point goes against the science of covid impact. Like USA Senitor Dr Ron Paul asked of F4 the smallest greatest what science experts never considers the body's build up of God given immunity. Just simply Vax the world when children and infants don't need it neither healthy adults. Biden, against USA Supreme Judges defenders of their Constitution is screaming to vaccinate the world's population. Of course this comes with a QCode for each living and dead human. Some compare it to the mark of the beast as moving forward the world's most deadly trillionaires of the Earth has deemed this necessary in their play God role. NIB and Social Security numbers are nationalistic. QCode is a universal identifyer for each human. Why would the world's play gods want this under the name of saving lives.

Posted 3 December 2021, 7:20 a.m. Suggest removal

carltonr61 says...

Our Bahamian Nurses Union were smarter than the doll above. Our nurses placed on another planet by Minnis advised to wait and what happen from live human illegal testing of pioneering NINA gene editing tools. So far according to Gates they do not prevent transmission. Other pro vaxxers have concluded they possibly only help is you become hospitalized. You need a third booster named vaccine after 5 or 6 months possibly till when. They do not know. But still vaccinated. But still the COVID is here for life so admitting vaccines cannot affect its propagating or get rid of it. If vaccinated you shed spikes proteins to others. Good thing with Omicron it has too many unmatchable spikes. The batch is no good and may render Alpha and Delta neutralized when mixed.

Posted 3 December 2021, 8:47 a.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Has Covid hit its killing peak? Will the "new variants" be less dangerous until it fades away?

Still waiting on the truth about Covid

Posted 3 December 2021, 9:16 a.m. Suggest removal

carltonr61 says...

Germany. Unvaccinated locked out of society. After nine months fully vaccinated become unvaccinated then locked out as well I guess.

https://m.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morning…

Posted 3 December 2021, 9:59 a.m. Suggest removal

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