The country appears to be close to overcoming the third wave of coronavirus caused by Omicronsince there has been a slight decrease in the level of infections throughout the national territory.
Despite this, the variant South African could put the health system at risk again, this after 3 cases of the sublineage of Omicron: BA.2, which would even be up to 15 times more contagious than the original strain.
Nevertheless, so far there is no scientific evidence to show that the subvariant of Omicron be more severe than BA.1. Even vaccines are effective against the new strain.
The first case of this lineage was detected in the national territory approximately two weeks ago, when an Argentine citizen recently arrived from Uruguay presented symptoms.
Through genomic surveillance it was possible to verify that the patient presented the new lineagealthough he had no signs of seriousness or that put his life at risk.
Although only two more cases of this subvariant have been found so far, it is likely to spread rapidly throughout the country due to its high level of transmission.
Vaccination is key to combat Omicron
Although the number of infections has begun to drop, the country is still going through the third wave of the pandemic, so the Government’s call is for all citizens to be vaccinated.
This not only because the biological reduces the risk of contagion, but also because the vaccine turns out to be effective against Omicroneven against the BA.2 lineage.
In this sense, the main recommendation, in addition to maintaining the protection measures, is to start the vaccination schedule or complete it, and if it is the case, receive the booster dose.
It is also important to go to the doctor in time to confirm the diagnosis, in case of presenting symptoms, and thus carry out the isolation period.
