From: Omikron spreads faster than Delta

According to the World Health Organization, if omikron begins to spread among the population of a country, it will occur faster than the outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant. With omikron, the number of infections will double in a period of 1.5 to 3 days. The World Health Organization emphasizes that much remains unclear about the severity of the disease course after omicron infection.

Governments around the world are struggling with the spread of the new species, which was discovered last month in South Africa. Countries like France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and (soon) the Netherlands have already taken stricter measures.

But why is Omicron going so fast?

The Dutch newspaper NRC summarized the top five reasons.

1) The omikron variant appears (strongly) less sensitive to antibodies formed through vaccination or infection. However, the boost shot offers an answer.

2) Omikron can live longer in aerosols, microscopic droplets of exhaled moisture that remain suspended in the air.

3) Omikron infects human cells twice as fast as the delta variant, according to cell tests published this week in a pre-release post. Compared to the original virus, the ability to infect was increased four times.

4) In omikron, it seems that everyone is vulnerable to being contaminated again, including those who have already contracted coronavirus. As a result, the risk of an outbreak has increased significantly.

5) It seems that omikron, much more than the previous variants, can infect people without them noticing much. Such a silent infection contributes to the fact that an epidemic can easily spread “under the radar”.

Read the full article here.