At the moment not much is known about this variant. It has many more mutations than the previous variants and that has made half Humanity nervous. At this time it seems that:
The variations make it less lethal ... and that's a good thing since it means that the virus has learned not to kill the host, that is, us. At first it was thought that the mutation would make the virus chronic and recurrent, which at most would require a memory prick before winter arrived but ...
... it is much more transmissible ... and that is bad, very bad, because the more people are infected, the more healthcare pressure and also the more possibility that some patients will end up dying even though the virus seems less lethal. It is already known that 0.2% of deaths in a population of 1000 people is not the same as 0.2% of 1000 million people. Pure math. At the rate of transmission of Omicron, all Humanity will be infected and it will be seen if this infection is useful, because we immunize ourselves and the disease runs like a simple cold, or we will have coronavirus for many years. So far it has infected 280 million people worldwide. Considering that we are 7000 million, it still has a lot of room to expand.
It is known that the four existing vaccines that have been administered that is, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, J&J and Moderna protect relatively little against Omicron although they do prevent the individual from becoming seriously ill and of course that the outcome would be fatal. The third dose increases immunity above all because it compensates for the loss of effectiveness of the vaccine over time, but at this time it has only been administered to a limited number of risk groups. Despite the third dose, the percentage of immunization does not reach the values obtained for the variants of the virus for which the vaccines were created. It seems that it will be during the month of March that we will have vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant.
Both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can become infected and transmit the disease. The former do not usually become seriously ill, unlike the latter, but it is possible for a vaccinated to infect an unvaccinated and vice versa.
Sars-Cov-2 is a very dangerous virus, not so much because of the percentage of deaths it causes, but because of its ability to reside in our bodies without giving symptoms, thus promoting the spread of many people before being detected. Other viruses manifest more quickly and despite their greater lethality, they are better isolated since an individual with Ebola or MERS shows such obvious symptoms that no ocular inspection would pass without being detected. In the end, this virus "compensates" for its lack of lethality with a very high contagion capacity that in the end can result in a higher number of deaths if measures are not taken. Ebola is much scarier but few cases have occurred outside of Africa while the Covid spread throughout the planet in months, killing many more people.
Sars-Cov-2 is transmitted in all the known ways that viruses can be transmitted: by air, by direct contact, by contact with surfaces (fomites), by animal-human transmission (and vice versa) and fluid exchange.
The greatest risk occurs in places where there is a high number of people, where there is physical contact, little or no social distance, low or no ventilation and in addition there are situations where droplets are emitted at a considerable distance when shouting, speaking loudly, singing, etc. . In case a place like this doesn't sound familiar to you, it is the setting for a Christmas table. Your family arrives and you hug or kiss them, you put them in a poorly ventilated dining room because it is cold and in a place where there are a dozen people, loud conversations are the most normal thing in the world.
The most reasonable and sensible thing would be not to celebrate any Christmas meal with people who are not living together, isolating especially - no matter how cruel it may sound - those who suffer from previous pathologies that make them susceptible to suffering from severe covid (obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.).
Christmas is not a must date if you have to do it under fear and danger. Two million Hollywood movies later, all of them praising on the wonderful Christmas, it is difficult to remove it from our brains and, as I fear, family dinners and lunches will continue to be celebrated without respecting the security measures set by the Health authorities. Let's see some ways to minimize the risk that, it should be noted, will not be far from zero.
If you celebrate the Christmas meal by receiving a relative or even non-relative but whose number does not exceed the limit set by the authorities, keep the following in mind. It should be done regardless of whether everyone is vaccinated or even with previous PCR / antigen tests. Without exception.
- Ventilate the space where the meal is to be held well, both before, during and after it. The ventilation of a space is measured by the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) that in the case of humans is produced when exhaling air. Adequate ventilation would be one in which the CO2 concentration is below 400 ppm while a poorly ventilated place would be above 800 ppm. If the dining room cannot be well ventilated due to its physical layout or for other reasons, a fan should be installed, although the ideal would be an air cleaning system using HEPA filters. These devices are worth between 50 and 200 euros (55 - 210 USD). If it's cold, bundle up. It is advisable to clean the area very well before and after eating. Scrub the floor and use domestic ozone generators if you can - do not use them while you are inside the room - to obtain a cleaning of objects that are not easy to ventilate. In any case, it is always better to ventilate well so that the virus concentration is as low as possible. The more viruses there are in the environment, the more chances of contagion. It is also advisable to maintain certain levels of humidity in the room. The humidity adds the particles and by simple gravity it makes them fall to the ground before, preventing them from progressing towards the noses, mouths and eyes of those present. Simply purchase an air humidifier or simply boil water to bring the casserole to the area before the meal. What is indicated at this point is vital, heed these precautions.
- If time permits, hold the meeting outdoors. Use a yard or similar. In this way, you will only have to worry about keeping social distance.
- Avoid physical contact and maintain social distance. Use the masks while not consuming drinks or food. You remove the mask to have a drink and put it back on. Withdraw to bring the fork to your mouth and put it back on. Do not put your hands to your face under any circumstances.
- Don't share dishes, common salad plates or so on where everyone clicks with their fork etc. All portions and dishes are served individually.
- Use as many disposable items as possible. For example, use paper napkins and tablecloths and treat cutlery and glasses as if they were contaminated items: do not exchange them, wash them immediately after use etc. The paper Christmas tablecloth should be disposed of in the same way.
- Clean the elements of the house that may have been in contact with non-living visitors: doorknobs, the bathroom, etc. Use bleach diluted in water whenever possible. Do not let people who enter your house leave their shoes on.
- Do not sing or speak aloud. If you do, the virus takes advantage of the exhaled air or the droplets to reach a greater distance.
- Do not trust the healthy appearance of our guests. Covid is asymptomatic for long periods of time, so it is not advisable to relax under any circumstances.
- If you think that your brother-in-law is going to feel offended by the sanitary measures you have taken, the best thing is to renounce his presence and hold telematic meetings or celebrate Christmas in the strictly family nucleus of cohabitants. Your health, mental and physical, will thank you
- If we are coughing or have a cold, whether we are hosts or guests, and no matter how sure we are that it is not about Covid, nothing about going to any house or accepting people in ours. The same if we feel bad. Covid manifests itself in multiple ways, so let's always act with the utmost caution.
- Voluntary prior quarantines. There are people who advocate carrying out prior quarantines to go to Christmas meals with the security of not infecting others. That is, lock yourself at home 10 days before meeting. Of course, it is not possible for everyone and once you put your feet on the street or in an environment other than yours, the risk of infection is immediately reborn.
- Go to meals with PCR, serological tests or antigen tests. Taking a test and it is negative does not mean that you cannot get infected the moment you leave the office after taking it or in the period of time between taking the test and when you go to lunch. There is also a period of time in which the virus, despite the fact that it has affected us, does not manifest itself sufficiently to be detectable. There is also an additional risk: "since we all have the negative test for masks, come hugs and kisses, nothing happens here." That false security could kill many of the guests, so be very careful when it seems precisely that the danger is minimal. So if you decide that this path is best, you must follow the same precautions that have been indicated, without lowering your guard under any circumstances.
