Covid-19的Omicron变体：我们现在知道的

引起SARS-COV-2病毒的Omicron变体新冠肺炎于11月下旬在南非首次确定，此后已成为那里的主要冠状病毒菌株。

Omicron has also been named a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization and has been identified in COVID-19 cases around the world, including many cities around the United States. But as with every new COVID-19 variant that’s cropped up, scientists are racing to understand it.

We asked infectious diseases specialist and head of Internal MedicineDavid Tweardy, M.D., to share details about this latest突变。

我们对Omicron变体有什么了解？

事实是，不是很多。早期的指标可以让我们对事物的位置有所了解mightgo, but it’s really too soon in this saga to tell. We won’tactually知道直到我们有更多数据。

这three biggest questions on everyone’s mind right now are:

• Is this strain more transmissible?
• 会引起更严重的感染吗？
• Will immunity derived from a先前的感染或a疫苗保护我免受它的侵害？

Whether we get a true surge from omicron hangs on the answer to that first question, in particular.

所以，是与其他COVID-19变体更可传播？

Early indicators suggest that omicron可能更可传播。但这在这一点上仍然是猜想，所以我不会把它带到银行。这mu variant有点接管了哥伦比亚，但后来又陷入了困境。和delta variant除南非以外，该国和世界各地的所有感染仍在造成超过99％的感染。因此，我们必须首先看到Omicron在这里和其他国家 /地区所做的事情。

Does omicron cause more severe infections?

早期数据表明，Omicron实际上可能引起温和的疾病，因为医院入院的相应跳跃不如早期变体引起的感染峰值。

Many of the South African patients testing positive for it did not even come into the hospital for COVID-19. They came in for other reasons, then got tested and were found to be positive. So far, the main symptoms being reported have also been milder: severe fatigue, body aches, and headaches.

与先前感染免受OMICRON的疫苗和/或抗体是否可以保护Omicron？

没有疫苗或先前的感染将完全保护任何新变体。但是，那些人会提供对Omicron的保护吗？我会说是的。它可能不如针对Delta或Alpha的好，但这并不令人惊讶。随着时间的流逝，病毒会改变，并且在Omicron的Spike蛋白中已经发现了大约30个突变，这是实际附着在细胞上的病毒的一部分。

但是，如果您还没有接种疫苗，或者您还没有获得1900助推器，并且有资格这样做 - 重要的是要继续进行疫苗接种。我们将继续面对新的变体，即使保护对新变体有所下降，疫苗提供的保护仍然总比没有好。这些疫苗继续对抗Delta变体的疫苗，这仍然是美国的主要压力。

一项研究报告说，Omicron引起重新感染的可能性是三角洲的三倍。那是什么意思？

这意味着，如果您先前由Delta变体引起的感染，并且您从中恢复过exposedto omicron than you are if you’re re-exposed to delta.

以前的感染赋予了一些免疫力，但看起来Omicron能够克服从该抗性和疫苗接种中获得的抵抗力。保护似乎不像针对三角洲的Omicron那样有效。

还没有足够的数据来对完全接种疫苗的人提出坚定的说法。但是接种疫苗仍将使您最多五次较少的可能会感染任何病毒的菌株，而不是保持未接种疫苗。因此，接种疫苗仍然非常值得。

What do you make of the reports that say omicron may have spread through hallway air among quarantined people in a Hong Kong hotel?

Those types of exposures actually wouldn’t surprise me. If an infected individual expelled some virus from their mouth,aerosolparticles could have gotten through the duct work and even infected someone in another room.

But that’s been true of previous strains, too, so I don’t think that necessarily makes omicron more transmissible. It also depends on how carefully any other possibilities were ruled out.

How can people protect themselves against omicron?

Get vaccinated immediately, if you haven’t been already. And don’t delay your助推器。Get them as soon as you’re eligible. The best protection you can get is still to have the highest level of immunity possible, and that only comes with完全疫苗接种。

如果您处于高传输状态和/或不知道周围人员的疫苗接种状态，则继续在室内掩盖室内也非常重要。当我们进入假期时，这一点尤其重要。

You should also continue to guard against the coronavirus and other viruses and infections, by:

• 维护physical distancing
• 接种流感疫苗
• Practing good hand hygiene
  

Any special guidance for cancer patients or immunocompromised people?

不。只要确保您就护理团队咨询有关接种疫苗的最佳时间。并得到你third doseas soon as possible, if you haven’t already done so.

另外，请保持警惕，以了解与其他助推器有关的任何新指南。辉瑞表明，对于提供最大的保护可能需要第四剂，并且许多疫苗公司已经在努力开发针对Omicron的疫苗。

您想让人们了解Omicron变体吗？

我现在开发了两种新的抗病毒药物，我感到非常兴奋。他们俩都应该有效地抵抗Omicron，并且都接近获得食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的紧急使用授权。

安排COVID-19预约疫苗atMD Anderson。Appointments are open to patients, caregivers and the general public.

Related articles
谁需要COVID-19-19？
Mixing and matching boosters: Should you do it?