Omicron triggers milder courses than the previous coronavirus variants: that is now known. But when it was discovered, many scientists didn’t want to believe it.
Pretoria – How dangerous is omicron? A question that many physicians and scientists asked themselves when the coronavirus variant appeared. The South African discoverer of omicron, Angelique Coetzee, suggested a mild illness early on. She saw easier courses in her patients. But according to her own statements in an interview with Welt , she was initially asked to hide this milder course.
Milder course with the omicron variant: Many did not believe discoverer at first
“When we tried to explain that it was a mild disease, because of the number of mutations, everyone said that wasn’t true.” At the beginning of November, Angelique Coetzee was the first doctor to draw attention to the omicron variant. Compared to the original Sars-CoV-2 virus, the mutation has an unusually high number of around 30 changes in the spike protein, also reported by the Robert Koch Institute*. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omikron as “concerning” after it became known in November. It is now known that the omicron variant spreads more quickly, but the courses are milder*.
“According to the clinical picture, there are no signs that we are dealing with a very serious disease,” Coetzee also told the newspaper. “The course is mostly mild. I’m not saying that you don’t get sick if you have a mild course.” According to the WHO definition, the definition of a mild coronavirus disease is as follows: “Patients can be treated at home and oxygen supply or hospitalization is not required.” In order to be able to observe these courses, scientists would always have to include the basis, the doctors’ experiences with a variant. “The general practitioners who treat the sick every day must be asked what they are experiencing, how the clinical picture is presented,” says the doctor. “That didn’t happen here.”
Doctor should be silent about the milder course of the omicron mutation – “I will not be silenced”
In view of the milder course, governments “definitely overreacted,” says Coetzee, who is also chair of the South African Medical Association, in an interview with Welt . But first, the news of the milder illness should not get into circulation. “I was told not to publicly state that it was a mild illness. I have been asked to refrain from making such statements and to say that it is a serious illness. I refused,” says the doctor.
In the interview, the omicron discoverer spoke of scientists from the Netherlands and Great Britain who questioned her accounts. “How can you explain that it’s a mild illness? It’s a serious illness. Look at the mutations,” she quotes the scientists as saying. “My reports got them off track,” says Coetzee, again pointing out the importance of knowledge from the practices. “I will not be silenced. I was right. If I were wrong, I would ask for your forgiveness,” she concludes.
Omicron variant as the end of the pandemic? Doctor explains clear sign
Does Omicron mean the end of the pandemic? A German doctor from the Expert Council recently spoke of a relaxed summer. The health ministers of the EU, on the other hand, do not yet see the danger of the corona virus averted. Opinions differ. Doctor Coetzee seems to see a clear sign of Africa. “There is a clear pattern because between each wave we had a closed period of about three months with a very low rate of infection. Based on this experience, we can say that the fifth wave is expected around May or June.” If this does not happen by the end of the year, the time would have come to say: “Now we are endemic,” said the Omicron explorer.
The fourth wave of the corona virus * currently prevails in Germany. Significantly shaped by: Omikron. According to the RKI’s weekly report, the two subvariants of Omikron* accounted for 97.7 percent of infections on February 10th. The latest mutation of the virus has almost completely replaced all other variants. So is Omicron the way out of the pandemic? (chd/AFP) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Rubriklistenbild: © Alexandr Kulikov/dpa
