Until very recently, you probably never heard of the term omicron. If you did, it was as a letter in the Greek alphabet, like delta or pi. Now, Omicron dominates the news as the latest coronavirus variant that was first discovered in Southern Africa and is now being found around the world, including in the United States.
Although data on the Omicron variant is incomplete, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge, note two of Mount Sinai’s leading experts in infectious diseases Judith A. Aberg, MD, Dean of System Operations for Clinical Sciences and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Bernard Camins, MD, Medical Director for Infection Prevention.
What do we know about the Omicron variant?
According to Drs. Aberg and Camins, the limited evidence we have suggests that while Omicron is more transmissible than earlier variants, it causes mainly mild disease—especially in people who are fully vaccinated and who have received their booster dose. Additionally, it appears to produce symptoms in line with those expected of COVID-19. This includes fatigue and headache as well as sore throat, runny nose, coughing, and fever. If you feel any of these symptoms, please get tested.
It will take more time for researchers and clinicians to fully assess how effective existing COVID-19 vaccines are against the Omicron variant. But if you have not yet been vaccinated, or are eligible and have not yet received a booster shot, you should do so as soon as possible. Vaccine makers are assessing the need to reformulate their vaccines against the new variant, but that may take months; Drs. Aberg and Camins say it is better to get some additional protection now rather than waiting for the potential for better protection later.
How do we protect ourselves against a more transmissible variant?
Drs. Aberg and Camins say that it is more important than ever to follow current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for avoiding infection, such as wearing masks in public indoor settings, staying home if you feel sick, getting vaccinated, and getting your booster shot when you are eligible. This is especially important as we enter the holiday season and as rates of infection rise in the New York metropolitan region and around the country, although there is no evidence that Omicron is the cause.
In addition, Drs. Aberg and Camins say you should be vigilant about following the CDC’s detailed guidelines on gathering for the holidays, which emphasize keeping your gatherings small and outdoors if possible. For traveling, the CDC says you should avoid travel if you have been exposed to COVID-19 unless you are fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days. You should avoid international travel until you are fully vaccinated. Some international travel is already being curtailed because of the new variant.
What else should be taken into consideration as this global pandemic continues?
Viruses constantly change through mutation.
These variants do not necessarily present a significant new risk. Last summer, the Delta variant was found to be more easily transmitted, but people who were vaccinated did not face a significantly increased risk of serious illness or hospitalization. Many other variants were initially thought important enough to be assigned a Greek-letter name but later turned out not to have a widespread or significant effect.
Scientists and researchers are hard at work to fully assess this variant.
Currently, scientists are working in labs to assess how effective the existing COVID-19 vaccines are against Omicron. The testing involves taking blood samples from those who have been fully vaccinated and seeing if their antibodies neutralize the new variant. Results are expected in a few weeks. Additionally, Mount Sinai researchers are continually analyzing the positive SARS-CoV-2 samples for variants, including Omicron, to see if these variants are circulating among the local population.
We are keeping an eye on the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody treatments.
One of the main concerns with the Omicron variant is that the number and type of mutations it contains may make some monoclonal antibody treatments less effective. Monoclonal antibody treatments are given to non-hospitalized people diagnosed with COVID-19 who are at high risk of developing more severe symptoms. Scientists are working to learn which treatments will be most effective against Omicron.