How Omicron manifests itself, and what are its differences
- At the onset of the disease, the body temperature is often increased, it can reach 39 degrees and even higher, but, as a rule, it does not reach severe respiratory failure.
- Vaccinated people also get sick with Omicron, including those who have a high titer of antibodies. Cases of repeated illness have also become more frequent.
- The strain has a lower severity of the course, but compensates for all this by facilitated transmission, which leads to a rapid increase in the incidence.
- The viral load is initially higher than that of the Delta variant, but this does not always correlate with the severity of the course.
Than Omicron threatens Ukrainians?
According to Olga Golubovskaya, an increase in morbidity awaits us, but it will probably not be so tragic. At the same time, risk groups are also more vulnerable to a severe course of the disease.
“The tactics of managing patients (regardless of the vaccination status) should be equally unchanged – early treatment with antiviral drugs. Early treatment is immediately after the diagnosis, in the first week. This is the most effective thing we have to date …” – says the doctor …
Golubovskaya says that influencing the pathogen is the most effective method in treating any infectious disease. And the denial of this fact by some doctors leads to the fact that we lose patients who could be saved.
What drug saves patients at risk
Golubovskaya says early remdesivir reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in at-risk patients. But it is important to get the drug in the early stages.
“The new study says the drug could be useful in preventing hospitalization of (vaccinated and unvaccinated) patients, which is critical as the Omicron surge threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems around the world. Remdesivir could be a boon for COVID-19 patients in those parts of the world. where there are no vaccines, or for immunocompromised patients, “the doctor writes, citing the New England Journal of Medicin.
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