Head of Virology Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences stating that “When we see Omicron in the four corners of the world, it means that the virus is spreading,” said: It should be noted that these statistics are not real and the identification of cases depends on surveillance, genetic monitoring of countries, etc.; So there are definitely more Omicron cases.
Dr. Alireza Naji, about the characteristics of the omicron variant of Corona virus, said: We do not have much information about Omicron at this time, and we are somehow facing a vacuum of information about Omicron. Therefore, it will take time for the usual studies, imaging, and tests to be done to comment on how highly transmissible this strain can be, how severe the disease can be, and how far it can escape the immune system.
Omicron report in 31 countries
He added: What is clear, of course, is that the virus has spread around the world; as of now, 31 countries have reported it and 379 cases of Omicron have been officially reported, which is certainly more than that. For example, a positive example in Belgium was that of a traveler who had traveled from Egypt to that country. So Egypt did not report the case, but it probably should have the virus. Omicron is now reported on all continents of the world. Recently, two cases of omicron corona have been identified and announced in Brazil, and this variant has been identified among Iran’s neighbors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Why omicron statistics are unrealistic / 4 worrying corona variants
Naji emphasized: Of course, it should be noted that these statistics are not real and the identification of cases depends on surveillance, genetic monitoring of countries, and so on. Certainly more Omicron cases, when you see it in the four corners of the globe in Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Africa, it means that the virus has the advantage of spreading. That is why it is dangerous and we must pay attention to it. It is not right to simplify and declare that this variant does not cause much disease, which we hope it will. It should be noted that this variant was so disturbing that despite its short lifespan, the World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting and classified it as a disturbing variant, along with beta, gamma, and delta. So if we simplify and neglect in this regard, we may regret it.
The arrival of Omicron in Iran is not unexpected
He added: At the same time, it is not far-fetched that the Omicron variant has entered Iran, but we have not yet identified it. It should be noted that emicron cases reported in countries such as the Netherlands or Hong Kong, etc., are even ahead of Africa in terms of patient sampling time. Interestingly, we know the origin of this variant from Africa, and there have been many reports from South Africa and South African countries that this variant has been identified, but the prevalence of this virus, given the times we see, is probably more than this and should be taken seriously.
Omicron escapes stronger immune system than Delta
Stating that “What is clear is that this variant is very widespread,” Naji said: Given the many mutations that have been created in the virus, with the computer modeling they have done, it seems likely that it is more contagious than the Wuhan strain. As for the immune system escape, it seems to be a variant that can escape the immune system well. It may be higher than Delta in this respect, but it will take two to three months to gather information about its pathogenicity.
So we have to wait to know more about this variant. It is true that it has been reported that we have not seen a serious disease of this variant yet, but when a virus spreads and infects higher risk age groups, it can be problematic and then we can understand what its condition is.
In response to allegations that Omicron was three to five times more powerful than Delta, Naji said: That does not seem to be the case. It also appears from the information we have that the Delta has more contagious power than Emicron. Of course, we have to wait and see which of these variants can win in this competition. At the same time, from the mutation in the micron, it does not appear to be more contagious than the delta, but it can be said that the micron is probably stronger than the delta in escaping the immune system.
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Omicron and the end of the corona?
 Regarding some statements about the weakness of the Omicron variant and the end of the corona in this regard, he said: We have no evidence of such a statement. A virus like omicron is catching up all over the world, and the number of cases detected from omicron in South Africa is higher than other variants, and there has been a surge in hospitalizations in South Africa. Of course, they are much less vaccinated than in our country. That is why we emphasize vaccination more.
Reducing the speed of vaccination in the country / the need to encourage people to get vaccinated by legislation
Naji said: Now we in the country have reached a slow state in the field of vaccination and our vaccination percentage does not go much higher and its speed is not high. Now we in the country have reached a slow state in the field of vaccination and our vaccination percentage does not go much higher and its speed is not high. This issue exists all over the world, which includes the same social restrictions, and that if a person wants to go to a public place, he must have a vaccination card, or in many places they have made their contract extension conditional on vaccination, and … these are actions that Of course, it is not beautiful for humans, but the fact is that it must be done. Because public health is at stake, and the variants that are created are variants that are created in communities that have not taken specific measures to limit the spread of the virus and do not have a proper vaccination schedule. At the same time, it shows that the whole world must help each other to prevent the emergence of these variants.