Omicron will “eventually come to most countries” in Western Pacific, WHO says
From CNN’s Eric Cheung
The Omicron variant will “eventually come to most countries” in the Western Pacific region, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said Friday as he urged governments to make preparations.
Regional Emergency Director for WHO’s Western Pacific region Dr. Babatunde Olowokure said he believed the number of countries with the new variant circulating is higher than what is currently reported.
A number of countries and territories in the region, including Japan, South Korea and Australia have reported cases of the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa.
Olowokure added that countries can learn from their experiences in responding to the Delta variant, including boosting vaccine coverage for priority groups — such as health care workers, the elderly and vulnerable populations.
Other measures included mask-wearing, social distancing, strengthening active surveillance, taking a risk-based approach to border control, and prioritizing ICU beds for those who require such treatment, Olowokure said.
It’s just past midnight in Washington, DC and 6 a.m in Berlin. Here’s the latest on the Omicron variant
The Omicron coronavirus variant has prompted a fresh wave of travel restrictions and border closures as countries scramble to identify cases of the potentially more transmissible strain. Here’s what you need to know:
- Biden’s Covid plan: The US President stopped short of imposing shutdowns on schools or businesses, ruling them out for now as he announced a new strategy aimed at fighting a potential winter surge of Covid-19. Biden’s speech came as Omicron variant cases were identified in at least five US states by late Thursday.
- New US travel rules: From 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, all inbound travelers must take a Covid-19 test within one day of departure to the US. Currently, travelers are required to test within three days of their departure. Foreign travelers arriving in the US must also be fully vaccinated.
- Germany locks down unvaccinated: Germany on Thursday announced a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated, as its leaders backed plans for mandatory inoculations in the coming months. The move comes as the country battles a surge in cases that has pushed Europe back to the epicenter of the pandemic, heightening fears over the newly discovered Omicron variant.
- South Africa infections spike: South Africa’s Covid-19 cases are “increasingly rapidly” at what looks to be “the fastest rate we have seen since the start of the pandemic,” the head of the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases said. Weeks after Omicron was first detected in the country, it is now the dominant variant in some provinces, according to health authorities.
Just about any Covid-19 vaccine works as a booster, study finds
From CNN’s Maggie Fox
Any one of six different Covid-19 vaccines produce a strong immune system response and should work safely and well as boosters for people who have received initial vaccinations with either the Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccines, British researchers reported Thursday.
They said their findings are especially important as studies show protection from two doses of these vaccines is waning. The new Omicron variant may evade some of the effects of vaccines, researchers reported in the Lancet medical journal..
And the longer the interval between the initial vaccine and the booster dose, the stronger the immune response, according to the research.
“It’s really encouraging that a wide range of vaccines, using different technologies, show benefits as a third dose to either AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech. That gives confidence and flexibility in developing booster programs here in the UK and globally, with other factors like supply chain and logistics also in play,” said Saul Faust of the University Hospital Southampton, who led the study team.
Study methods: The researchers randomly gave one of seven different boosters to more than 2,800 people, including vaccines made by AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Moderna, Germany’s Curevac and France’s Valneva.
After four weeks, almost everyone had similar immune responses. AstraZeneca’s vaccine did not provide a strong boost if given to people initially vaccinated with the same vaccine, the researchers found. Otherwise, any of the vaccines boosted either vaccine well. The team will follow volunteers for at least a year.
What about Omicron? Faust said he hoped the boosters would work well against the Omicron variant, but noted that had not been tested. The researchers did not test people against real-life infection, but rather tested their blood for antibody responses — which studies have shown are good indicators of protection against infection.
Faust said the findings come at an important time. “With a new variant, we do need to try and get boosters into people,” he told reporters. “We’re right at the beginning of a very, very busy winter period.
“This is about just making sure we’ve got people as protected as possible.
