As of: 11/28/2021 9:06 am
Initial studies of people infected with the Omikron variant in South Africa indicate a mild course. One age group is primarily affected.
According to the local Medical Association (SAMA), people in South Africa infected with the new Coronavirus variant Omikron have not yet become seriously ill. South African Medical Association chairwoman Angélique Coetzee told the BBC that the cases identified so far in her country are not serious. However, the studies on this variant are still at a very early stage.
“Patients mostly complain of body aches and pains and fatigue, extreme fatigue, and we see it in the younger generation, not the elderly,” she said. It is not about patients who would be admitted directly to a hospital, said Coetzee.
Young age structure
She told the Telegraph that one had to worry that the new variant could hit older people who also suffered from diabetes or heart disease much harder. In South Africa, only about six percent of the population is over 65 years of age. She added that while the symptoms of the new variant were unusual, they were mild.
She was first made aware of the possibility of a new variant when patients with unusual Covid 19 symptoms came to her practice in Pretoria at the beginning of November. They would have suffered from severe fatigue. None of them complained of a loss of taste or smell. “Her symptoms were so different and milder than the ones I had previously treated”. Coetzee was reportedly the first South African doctor to alert the authorities to patients with a new variant on November 18.
“She was only discovered here”
The number of infections in South Africa had been at a very low level for months, but a week ago the number of positive tests skyrocketed: first in Pretoria, then also in Johannesburg and in the metropolitan region of Ekuhurleni. Because it was so noticeable, genomics investigated the cases.
“Just because we identified this variant here and very quickly does not mean that the variant comes from South Africa. It was only discovered here,” said Tulio de Oliveira, head of the genome research institute KRISP.
Praise for South Africa’s approach
Washington received praise for South Africa’s handling of Omikron. The US government called the approach exemplary. In a telephone conversation with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken especially emphasized the scientists in South Africa for the quick identification of the Omicron variant, the US State Department said. Blinken also praised the South African government for its transparency in passing on this information. This behavior should serve as a “model for the world”.
The head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, also praised the South African colleagues on Friday. At the federal press conference, Wieler said he was very happy that the spread of the variant was being tracked so reliably and with great commitment in South Africa at the moment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies the omicron variant B.1.1.529 as “worrying”. The EU health authority ECDC speaks of serious concerns that the variant could significantly reduce the effectiveness of the corona vaccines and increase the risk of reinfections. The exact effects of the variant have not yet been determined.