Omicron and On and On… Another Covid variant, another federal effort to combat it. James Freeman
https://www.wsj.com/articles/omicron-and-on-and-on-11639523755?mod=opinion_lead_pos11
The chair of the South African Medical Association, who helped alert the world to Covid’s Omicron variant, is still trying to persuade the British government not to panic about it. Dr. Angelique Coetzee writes this week in the Daily Mail:
As a general practitioner for more than 33 years, I am one of the foot soldiers who sees patients first. We clinicians deal day-to-day with real people, not statistical projections, and I can reassure you that the symptoms presenting in those with Omicron are very, very mild compared with those we see with the far more dangerous Delta variant…
In the part of South Africa where I work, there haven’t been many patients admitted to hospital with Omicron, and most have been treated at home, using anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen, and low doses of cortisone.
Bear in mind, too, that most of those who contract Omicron here are unvaccinated (only 26 per cent of South Africans are fully vaccinated). While this is certainly not an argument against vaccination — I cannot stress the importance of that enough — it’s reassuring to know that even unprotected bodies fight off this variant much more easily than Delta. Current data indicates that the majority of cases admitted to ICUs are unvaccinated people.
Meanwhile in Washington, government medical authorities are sounding especially fearful again. The Washington Post’s Lena Sun, Joel Achenbach, Laurie McGinley and Tyler Pager report today:
Top federal health officials warned in a briefing Tuesday morning that the omicron variant is rapidly spreading in the United States and could peak in a massive wave of infections as soon as January, according to new modeling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The prevalence of omicron jumped sevenfold in a single week, CDC modeling shows, and at such a pace, the highly mutated variant of the coronavirus could ratchet up pressure on a health system already strained in many places as the delta variant continues its own late-autumn surge.
The briefing detailed two scenarios for how the omicron variant, first identified in South Africa three weeks ago, may spread through this country. The worst case scenario has spooked top health officials, who fear a fresh wave, layered on top of delta and influenza cases in what one described as “a triple whammy,” could overwhelm health systems and devastate communities, particularly those with low vaccination rates.
Perhaps Dr. Coetzee will consider a U.S. speaking tour. U.S. officials are considering not just further action but of course more spending. In the New York Times Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports:
Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services, hinted on Tuesday that the Biden administration may need to ask Congress for more money to fight the coronavirus pandemic, depending on the scope and severity of a potential new wave of infections fueled by the Omicron variant.
Let’s hope the next Covid waves inspire more sensible policy—and more careful risk analysis—than the earlier waves. Some of the results of misguided Covid policies will be haunting the world for years.
“The COVID-19 crisis will exacerbate maternal and child undernutrition and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries” was the title of a study published in Nature last summer, which reported:
By 2022, COVID-19-related disruptions could result in an additional 9.3 million wasted children and 2.6 million stunted children, 168,000 additional child deaths, 2.1 million maternal anaemia cases, 2.1 million children born to women with a low BMI and US$29.7 billion in future productivity losses due to excess stunting and child mortality…
Disruptions in supply chains for perishable nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables and animal-sourced foods, have been reported at local levels, especially during lockdowns, leading to price volatility and declining consumption of these foods. The pandemic and pandemic response have resulted in millions of people losing their sources of income. To cope with this, households have shifted to less expensive sources of calories, including starchy staples, cereals, oils and/or non-perishable ultra-processed foods, and reduced their consumption of nutrient-rich fruit and vegetables and animal-sourced foods, such as dairy, meat and fish.
If the FDA is willing to move at warp speed like it did during the previous administration, a new treatment could potentially not only save patients but also rescue the Biden administration from another round of panicked policy responses. The Journal’s Jared Hopkins reports:
Preliminary laboratory tests gave encouraging signs that Pfizer Inc.’s experimental Covid-19 pill for the newly infected could work against Omicron, the company said.
Pfizer also said Tuesday that a final analysis of late-stage study results confirmed the drug, named Paxlovid, was 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in adults at high risk of severe Covid-19.
The positive results come as the Food and Drug Administration reviews whether to clear use of Paxlovid in high-risk adults, a decision that could come before the end of the year.
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