TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS.- One second booster of the anticovid vaccine announced on Saturday the Health Secretary for all the staff working on the front lines against the pandemic.
In the Health statement, it details that relief corps personnel will also be immunized with a fourth dose starting this Monday, April 4.
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This second reinforcement will be for those who have already received the vaccine for four months and it is expected that in the coming weeks it will be extended to the population with underlying disease problems and immunocompromised.
The measure coincides with the possible entry of a new variant of concern into the country, according to the latest announcement made by the World Health Organization (WHO).
But what is this new variant about? According to the WHO, the new mutant variant of omicron has been baptized as “XE” and may be the most transmissible strain of covid so far.
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It was first detected in January in Britain and appears to be more contagious than any of the variants detected since the start of the pandemic, they note.
In many countries, the BA.2 variant, known as omicron 2 or stealthy omicron, due to its ability to evade PCR tests, has become the dominant strain.
In the US, the Centers for Infectious Disease Control announced this week that the variant is 30% more transmissible than the original omicron and that it has become dominant among new cases sequenced in that country.
This is a surprising increase for a variant that was less than 1% of all sequences in January in that country. But, just when the Americans and many countries, such as Chile, are just fearing a new wave thanks to this variant, there is already another newly discovered variant and whose cases are increasing, which is feared to be even more transmissible, experts say.
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Like the other two newcomers, CAR it is a recombinant strain, meaning that it is made up of two previously distinct variants. But it’s not a deltacron mix. XE is actually made up of the original omicron (BA.1) and the newer omicron (BA.2).
This combination of infections means that the variant’s genetic material mixes within the patient’s body. This is not unusual and, in fact, has happened several times during the pandemic.
The World Health Organization issued a report with some preliminary details of this new variant.
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“Recombinant XE was first detected in the UK on January 19 and since then more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed,” the WHO document reads.
However, the agency indicated that it will continue to closely monitor this new variant, in the event that cases continue to increase and it becomes the new dominant strain in that country and the world.
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