Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oxford Scientists Say No Proof Omicron Resists Current Shots
Fox News: University Of Oxford On Omicron: No Proof COVID-19 Vaccines Won't Prevent Against Severe Disease
The University of Oxford said Tuesday there was no evidence that current COVID-19 vaccines would not continue to protect against severe disease from the omicron variant. "Despite the appearance of new variants over the past year, vaccines have continued to provide very high levels of protection against severe disease and there is no evidence so far that omicron is any different," a University of Oxford spokesperson told Fox News in an email. "However, we have the necessary tools and processes in place for rapid development of an updated COVID-19 vaccine if it should be necessary." The spokesperson also said current data about the omicron variant is limited due to its recent discovery. (Musto, 11/30)
Stat: Cause For Optimism On Omicron: Our Immune Systems Aren't Blank Slates
The emergence of a new Covid-19 variant with a startlingly large constellation of mutations has countries around the world sounding alarms. While the concerns are understandable, experts in immunology say people need to remember a critical fact: Two years and 8 billion vaccine doses into the pandemic, many immune systems are no longer blank slates when it comes to SARS-CoV-2. (Branswell, 12/1)
Stat: Pfizer Research Head Sees A Sprint To Develop Omicron Vaccine, If Needed
A top Pfizer executive says the company is hopeful that booster shots will provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant — but has already envisioned a timeline for the development of a new vaccine if that’s not the case. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, likened the company’s researchers to firefighters: They don’t know how serious the blaze will be, but need to prepare for the worst. And in this case, the worst would mean the need to develop new vaccines. (Herper, 11/30)
NBC News: These Early Signs Made Omicron Different From Previous Covid Variants, Experts Say
When Jeremy Kamil got his first look at B.1.1.529, the coronavirus variant that would soon be named omicron, it didn’t take long to see the differences. More than 30 mutations made the variant's spike proteins, which cover the outside of the virus and are the main targets of vaccines and the body’s immune responses, different from those of the virus that first emerged in late 2019. (Chow, 11/30)
Stat: Doctors Hope Omicron Causes Milder Covid, But It’s Too Early To Say
Physicians around the world have suggested the Omicron variant may cause milder illness than other forms of the coronavirus. But actually understanding Omicron’s severity is an open question, experts caution — one that requires more patient data and more time to answer. The South African physician Angelique Coetzee told the BBC this weekend, for example, that the cases she and colleagues were seeing weren’t serious. “We haven’t admitted anyone,” she said. In Israel, one doctor told Haaretz that, “if it continues this way, this might be a relatively mild illness compared to the Delta variant.” (Joseph, 11/30)
On omicron around the world —
Axios: WHO Advises People 60 And Older To Postpone Travel Due To Omicron
The World Health Organization on Tuesday advised those 60 or older and other vulnerable people to postpone travel plans in response to the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The WHO said on Monday that the Omicron variant poses a "very high" risk and may be more transmissible than other strains of COVID-19. Though the WHO acknowledged there are still many uncertainties associated with the variant, the agency said it believes the likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron around the world is "high." (Garfinkel, 11/30)
The New York Times: Omicron Was Present In Europe Days Before Flights Were Halted
Two people who tested positive for the coronavirus in the Netherlands more than a week ago were infected with the Omicron variant, Dutch health officials reported on Tuesday. The timing is significant because it suggests that the variant was already present in the country for at least a week before the arrival of two flights from South Africa on Friday, and before the World Health Organization labeled Omicron a “variant of concern,” the step that prompted countries around the world to ban flights from southern Africa, where researchers first identified the variant. (Engelbrecht, 11/30)
AP: Brazil And Japan Report First Cases Of The Omicron Variant
Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. The Netherlands’ RIVM health institute disclosed that patient samples dating from Nov. 19 and 23 were found to contain the variant. It was on Nov. 24 that South African authorities reported the existence of the highly mutated virus to the World Health Organization. That indicates omicron had a bigger head start in the Netherlands than previously believed. (Casert and Johnson, 12/1)
An omicron summary —
CNN: How Worried Should We Be About Omicron, The New Coronavirus Variant?
Since South African authorities announced the arrival of a new coronavirus variant that contains an unusually large number of mutations, countries around the world have mobilized by putting into place travel restrictions and precautionary measures. There is much that's still unknown about this variant, Omicron. While scientists are gathering more information, the public wants to know how worried they should be. Is the alarm around Omicron warranted? What's already known, and what are the key pieces of information still to be researched? Are there things we can do to prepare for it? (Hetter, 11/30)
