Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Omicron Variant Evolution Studied
Stat: Some Experts Believe Omicron Variant May Have Evolved In An Animal Host
When Covid-19 variants arise, the accepted wisdom is that the constellation of mutations they contain developed in an immunocompromised person who contracted the virus and couldn’t shake the infection. But some scientists have an alternative theory for where the latest variant of concern, Omicron, may have acquired the unusual mutations that stud its spike protein. They speculate the virus could have evolved in another animal species. (Branswell, 12/2)
Axios: America Probably Won't Lead The Effort To Understand The Omicron Coronavirus Variant
The race to figure out just how dangerous the Omicron variant is will likely be a global effort, but some experts are skeptical that the U.S. will play a dominant role. The CDC has repeatedly come under fire for inadequate data collection throughout the pandemic — and figuring out how to respond to Omicron requires a lot of data that doesn't currently exist. (Owens, 12/2)
CNN: How South African Scientists Discovered The Omicron Variant And Set Off A Global Chain Reaction
In the early days of November, laboratory technicians at Lancet Laboratories in Pretoria, South Africa, found unusual features in samples they were testing for the coronavirus. Essentially, a gene was missing in what would be a normal genome profile of the virus. PCR tests weren't detecting one of their expected targets, a signal that something about the virus had changed. Just a few days later, the same phenomenon was reported at Lancet's Molecular Pathology Department in Johannesburg. Dr. Allison Glass, a pathologist with Lancet, said the discovery coincided with an increase in positive cases of Covid-19 in parts of South Africa. (Lister and McKenzie, 12/2)
In news on omicron's spread around the world —
CNBC: Omicron To Dominate And Overwhelm The World In 3-6 Months, Doctor Says
The new Covid variant omicron will likely “overwhelm the whole world” in the coming months, according to a Singapore-based infectious disease doctor. While vaccines against the strain can be developed quickly, they need to be tested over three to six months to prove that they can provide immunity against the variant, Dr. Leong Hoe Nam of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital said Wednesday. “But frankly, omicron will dominate and overwhelm the whole world in three to six months,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.” (Ng, 12/2)
The New York Times: Most New Cases In South Africa Are Now The Omicron Variant
The Omicron variant has become by far the most prevalent version of the coronavirus spreading in South Africa, replacing the fading Delta variant, health officials said on Wednesday. Nearly three-quarters of the 249 positive test samples that were checked genetically in South Africa in November were found to involve the Omicron variant, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases announced. (Chutel and Engelbrecht, 12/1)
Bloomberg: Omicron Covid Variant May Be Less Lethal In India: Epidemiologist
The newly-emerged omicron variant is likely to be less lethal in India than the delta-led virus wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums earlier this year, according to a prominent epidemiologist. Given the widespread exposure of Indians to Covid-19 virus and a reasonably-high vaccination rate, India will likely be less affected by the new strain, Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. That may change if omicron is effective at getting past all immune defenses, he said. (Pradhan, 12/2)
The New York Times: An Israeli Doctor With Omicron Met Dozens Of People. Just One Tested Positive
Elad Maor initially feared that he might have exposed hundreds of people to the virus when he became the first Israeli to test positive for the new Omicron variant on Saturday morning. In the three days before his positive results, Dr. Maor, a cardiologist, had attended a large staff meeting at his hospital east of Tel Aviv. He had inserted stents into the arteries of 10 patients. And he had driven to a cardiology conference north of Tel Aviv, sharing the 90-minute car journey with a 70-year-old colleague, and lunched there with five others in a crowded canteen. (Kingsley, 12/1)
