New Omicron infections in those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated? New data from South Africa calls into question 2G

The Omikron variant is on the rise. How dangerous is it for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered? All news in the ticker.

Update from December 6th, 10:22 pm: “We are recording an infection rate that we have not seen since the beginning of the epidemic,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday. The newly discovered Omicron variant appeared to be on the rise, he warned, adding: “I call on all South Africans to get vaccinated immediately”.

According to the latest information, the number of cases of infection has quintupled within a week to around 16,000 last Friday. Around a quarter of the corona tests in South Africa are now positive – two weeks ago it was only two percent.

Most infections are in the Gauteng province, which also includes the capital Pretoria and the economic metropolis Johannesburg. The first omicron cases were discovered in Gauteng in November.

New Omicron infections in those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated? New data from South Africa calls into question 2G

First report from December 6th: Munich – In Germany, the 2G rule currently applies in many places. The new Omikron variant of the coronavirus * could pose a risk despite this precautionary measure. Because: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a corona infection that has been overcome does not protect against infection with the new omicron variant. “We think that a previous infection does not protect against Omikron,” said infectiologist Anne von Gottberg of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Thursday (December 2nd) at a press conference of the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Omicron variant: can the vaccination prevent or only weaken infections?

The scientist said the question will be explored further. However, initial observations suggest that people who have already been infected by Omikron could contract Covid-19 again. Then the symptoms were apparently often less severe. According to von Gottberg, the existing corona vaccines should continue to protect against serious diseases. How effective the vaccines actually are against the new variant is not yet conclusively clear.

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The head of the US vaccine manufacturer Moderna *, Stéphane Bancel, expressed himself pessimistically at the end of November: He was expecting a “significant decrease” in the protective effect, he told the Financial Times . After all, 32 of the 50 mutations in Omikron concern the spike protein with which the coronavirus penetrates cells.

Assessment by Biontech founder Sahin: How effective is the vaccination against the Omikron variant?

Biontech co-founder Ugur Sahin * does not rule out that Omikron could cause more infections in vaccinated people. It is very likely that the current vaccinations continued to protect against severe disease. “Our message is: don’t panic, the plan stays the same. Speed up the administration of the third dose. “

Laboratory tests should provide further information about Omikron, the results of which should be available in two to three weeks. A lesser effect of the existing vaccines against Omikron does not mean that they have no effect at all, emphasize specialist circles. “All people who get vaccinated do not start from scratch when they encounter a new variant,” said the President of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, at the end of November. Meanwhile, some German federal states are examining the exception to the 2G-Plus rule for booster-vaccinated people.

According to WHO information, the Omikron variant has now been detected in more than 20 countries, including Germany. India reported the first two Omicron cases on Thursday. In the southern state of Karnataka, two men aged 66 and 46 had tested positive for the Corona variant *, said a representative from the Ministry of Health. Now all of her first and second degree contacts would also be tested. (AFP / lb) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

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