It’s an ‘open question’ whether omicron spells Covid endgame
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At a hearing of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, January 11, 2022, Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Med Advisor and Director, NIAID, in Washington, D.C., Sen. Rand Paul (R.KY), responds to his questions.
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Doctor Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser, said Monday that it’s too early to know if the omicron Covid-19 variation will signal the end of the coronavirus epidemic.
Fauci stated via videoconference that “it is a open question whether it is the live virus vaccine that everybody is hoping for.” The Davos Agenda virtual event.
Although highly transmissible the omicron variant has been shown to be more severe than other variants. This raises hopes that it might one day become a reality. hasten the end of the pandemic. Fauci claimed that this is not a guarantee.
“I hope so. However, that could only happen if the other variant doesn’t trigger the immune response to the first variant,” he stated.
Fauci explained that even if omicron is discovered as the final Covid-19 variant, it is not likely it will end the game for the virus. It will, however, remain endemic in the society.
Fauci stated that control means having it, but not at a level which disrupts society. That’s what I define endemicity to be.
He said that public health measures, such as wearing masks, would be no longer necessary at that point and that society could return some degree of pre-Covid normality.
This disease is not likely to disappear completely. It is possible that the disease will not affect our daily social, economic, and other relationships. That’s my view of the new norm.
Covid is endemic, but it’s too early to declare it.
Fauci, along with a group of public health professionals, agreed that Covid-19 will most likely be the dominant global strain in 2022 by omicron. But, there was some disagreement over whether this would be the last.
It is too soon to declare it an endemic. “There is high likelihood that we will develop a new variant,” Annelies Wilder Smith from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who is also a professor of emerging infectious diseases.
She said that although a new variant may be more severe than the ones before, it is important to remain prepared for anything.
Richard Hatchett was the chief executive officer at The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations. He seemed more positive, though.
Omicron is going to sweep the planet. “It may possibly sweep out other variants,” said he, noting that the virus would likely reach equilibrium at some point where it will become an annual epidemic similar to the seasonal flu.
— Don’t miss Geoff Cutmore’s discussion with ECB President Christine Lagarde, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva and India’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati at 7.30 a.m. ET Friday. The “Global Economic Outlook” will be discussed at Davos Agenda. Live streaming is available here.
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