Scientists hopeful that evolution and technology will tame COVID-19.
“One of the great next generation technologies is this sequencing capability for genetic material,” said Dr. Dave Engelthaler, director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s disease branch. “We look at the RNA and DNA of infectious diseases. By studying the genomics of this virus from the very beginning, we’ve been watching it evolve and seeing new mutations that might lead to new variants. Essentially, they would mutate to a way that they could transmit faster, maybe not cause more serious disease, but maybe start to evade some antibodies. We thought we had the winner of the-survival-of-the-fittest race with delta – that thing transmits really fast and it replaced all other strains around the globe – and then omicron pops up on Thanksgiving Day.”
In Yavapai County, health officials continue to report a high transmission rate. Yavapai County Community Health Services Assistant Director Carol Lewis stated there were 301 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in mid-December. Yavapai Regional Medical Center had 71 COVID patients, Verde Valley Medical Center had 21 and the Veterans Administration had five patients.
“This omicron variant does seem to transmit a lot faster. But It doesn’t seem to cause any more serious illness; in fact, there’s growing evidence that it may be milder,” said Engelthaler. “We’re watching that closely to see if it is really going to replace delta and keep this pandemic going, or are we building up enough immunity now to really help slow that down and maybe get to a post-pandemic, what we call an endemic phase, with this particular virus.”
The good news, he says, is that all the other human coronaviruses have become more easily transmitted but cause milder symptoms. “Most people just get a cold. We might be moving in that direction, which could be the silver lining behind this whole dark cloud of omicron.”
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the first antiviral pill called Paxlovid for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms in high-risk patients.
In addition, the vaccines that have been developed during the pandemic are providing a “giant antibody boost and a good cellular response” to prevent a life-threatening infection, he says; however, their effectiveness drops over time.
“That’s why we have boosters out. And we do hope that the boosters will get your antibodies back up to the same levels that they were when you first got vaccinated and help you from either getting infected or having any kind of a serious infection with omicron,” said Engelthaler.
He recommends that those who are most vulnerable – the elderly and those with any type of immune deficiency – get the booster shot, “probably once a year.” And that everyone else receive a booster shot six to 12 months after vaccinations. “It’s not a bad idea just to keep your antibody levels up high and if we do that, we’re going to keep moving to this endemic phase where now we just have another virus that we can deal with. Just another cold.” QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
For more from Dr. Engelthaler, visit Zonie Living: Business, Adventure and Leadership at starworldwidenetworks.com
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