Alarm and sharp decline in global stock exchanges, stock collapse, travel ban and a drop in oil prices, after the World Health Organization revealed the emergence of a new mutant in South Africa, which it classified as “alarming”, the fifth strain placed in this classification.
Fears are growing that the new mutated Corona virus will return the world to square zero, after conditions have changed within 24 hours, which may constitute a new blow to the economic recovery after recovering from closures and the comprehensive imposition of precautionary measures.
What are the symptoms?
According to the group of experts tasked with monitoring the evolution of the pandemic, "the WHO was first notified of the B.1.1.529 mutant by South Africa on November 24, 2021 (...). This mutant contains a large number of mutations, some of which are worrying." .
Dr. Wael Safwat, a consultant to the World Health Organization, told Al-Hurra that the new strain contains more than 30 mutations, adding, "The symptoms are not yet clear."
Safwat rules out that the symptoms of the old strains differ from the new mutant, and he also pointed out that some infections with the new mutant were discovered by chance, "including cases that were on the way to obtaining a vaccination."
"It has not yet been confirmed whether the cases suffer from severe fatigue or serious symptoms," he added.
Are vaccines effective?
Concurrently, the US pharmaceutical company Moderna stated that it will develop a booster dose against the Omicron mutant.
However, it may take weeks for scientists to understand the mutations of the new strain, and whether current vaccines and treatments are effective against it.
The Health Security Agency in Britain said that the new strain contains a coronary protein that is radically different from the original protein on which vaccines depend, which raises concern and fuels concerns about the effectiveness of current vaccines.
The New York Times quoted Dr. William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, and other researchers as saying that "vaccines will likely protect against Omicron, but more studies are needed to determine how effective the doses are."
In this context, Safwat says: "So far, the mutant has overcome the vaccine. The first cases of the new strain appeared in Botswana, and it was for a person on his way to obtain a booster dose of the vaccine."
He explained, "This means that the virus is superior to the existing vaccines, but this is a theory that needs more research, and for this the whole world is in a state of anxiety and alert."
And whether this will reinforce some people's mistrust in vaccination, Safwat said: "I do not think; the problem is the emergence of the new mutation that comes in light of the spread of the fifth wave and the imposition of some restrictions in European countries."
He added, "In the coming hours, the effect of vaccines may become clear or not. The entire scientific community is on alert so that we do not go back to square zero."
What is the relationship of distributive justice to the new variable?
The Wall Street Journal says the new mutation highlights the danger to global public health that large numbers of people in the developing world do not have access to a vaccine, as countries have struggled to get their vaccinations while the virus has been spreading and mutating.
According to Oxford University data, only 7 percent of people in Africa have been fully vaccinated, compared to 42 percent of the global population. While vaccination levels in Europe and the United States were 67 percent and 58 percent.
Commenting on this, Safwat says: "So far, 42 percent of the world's population has received the vaccine, so we have a large period of time to reach herd immunity, which is 70 percent."
The WHO consultant believes that the concern about new strains will remain, especially the last strain due to its multiple mutations, "as if we are dealing with a new form of the virus that is different from the previous one."
Public health officials say this discrepancy helped open the door to the latest mutation, which contains more than 50 mutations.
The Group of Seven of the world's largest economies had announced a goal to provide one billion doses to developing countries, but it is a plan that critics say is too slow.
Last October, a hundred leaders and former ministers from around the world called on Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose country was hosting the G-20 summit, to address what they said was an unfair distribution of vaccines.
In this context, Safwat says that if there was justice in the rapid, fair and global distribution of vaccines, "the chances of the virus mutating would be few."
He continued, "If one case in the world is infected with the virus, this means an opportunity for it to mutate and change its protein and shape, and thus face vaccines and other precautionary measures."
Is closure and ban an optimal solution?
Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization not to impose travel restrictions, the borders began to be closed, and countries decided to suspend flights from African countries, while other countries imposed a quarantine.
Epidemiologists have warned that travel restrictions may be too late to stop the global Omicron outbreak.
In this regard, Safwat says: "There is no optimal solution to confront the new mutant, because it is certain that there are thousands of cases infected with the new mutant that have not been discovered, and some of them have already traveled to different countries."
The new strain was first discovered in South Africa and was later detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.
He continued, "The presence of one infected person in any country may threaten the transmission of the virus to anyone. The closure will certainly help, but it is not the best solution. The genetic code must be deciphered and the symptoms of the new mutant be known in order to deal with it well."
What now?
It may take several weeks for scientists to fully identify the strain's mutations, and whether available vaccines and treatments are effective against them.
But investors are concerned that the new strain will cause another wave of the pandemic, and lead to a faltering global recovery, as oil prices plunged by about ten dollars a barrel.
As for ordinary people, they are now required to tighten the precautionary measures that were accustomed to when the virus first appeared, says Safwat, referring to physical distancing, the use of alcohol for disinfection, and the obligation to wear masks, adding, "They are currently more important measures than the vaccine itself."
Safwat does not expect the countries to return to the closure "after we have a lot of mechanisms, experience and acumen to deal with the virus."
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November 27, 2021 at 07:23PM
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