It has been less than a week since South African scientists discovered the Omicron variant of COVID-19. That is not a lot of time to learn about the variant's behavior, so health experts are waiting for new information.
"It's always important to wait for the data before we ascribe any new capabilities to this virus and we're going to figure it out because we've figured everything else out so far," Dr. Mark Pandori, Director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory said.
The NSPHL analyzes the genetics of positive cases of COVID-19 in Nevada. Pandori says the possibility of the new variant coming to the state does not change how it operates. It has been conducting DNA sequencing since January 1.
It hasn't been new to us," Pandori said. "What's new is that this genetic blueprint was found in South Africa. Now everyone has that blueprint so we can look for it."
The concern is that there are more than 30 mutations to the spike protein in the virus.
"Mutations can weaken viruses," Dr. Nancy Diao, Division Director of Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness at Washoe County Health District said. "They can also make it stronger but what we eventually see that comes up in these variants of concern is that these are the survival of the fittest."
Diao says the virus will continue to evolve as long as there is community spread COVID-19. She says the best way to prevent that is to get vaccinated or get the booster.
"Most importantly, we want to keep up with vaccination," Diao said. "That's the best way to stop transmission. We need to keep on with consistent and proper mask-wearing, consistent hand-washing, with also avoiding crowded places and social distancing and good ventilation."
"The changes that occur in this virus only occur when it copies itself," Pandori said. "It makes an error when it copies itself and it copies itself as it jumps from person to person."
It is still too early to tell if the mutation will be more resistant to the vaccines than other variants. Pandori thinks the vaccine will still offer much more protection even if it is less effective.
"It's 30 changes in a structure that has 1,273 little bricks in it and all we're seeing are 30 changes there," Pandori said. "Vaccines affect that whole structure."
Pandori says there is an unprecedented amount of surveillance happening and that having the blueprint for Omicron could do a lot of good if it was discovered early enough.
"If in fact, we caught this really early, and it's really excellent work that was done in South Africa," Pandori said. "If that's the case, then something like a travel ban could actually work."
The new variant has not been detected in the United States but Pandori says that does not mean it is not here.
The Washoe County Health District is conducting it's own investigations. That will not change if Omicron makes its way to our community.
"With disease investigating and contact tracing, we are keeping up looking at if there's clusters forming and what patterns are these clusters so we can inform the public if there's anything concerning," Diao said.
Washoe County has a seven-day average of 78.7 new daily cases. The numbers are decreasing but it is still much higher than health officials want it to be. Diao says these new variants are always concerning.
"I've been concerned since the beginning of this pandemic because it's always been a wild card, knowing that there could be mutations that keep on happening," Diao said.
The good news is the medical community is making advancements to help fight the pandemic.
"We have therapeutics that are coming out, we have pills, we have interventions so multiple things are happening at the same time to help us keep this as endemic as possible," Diao said.
