There’s more to learn about new variants, but authorities say the public health message remains the same.

Just as Colorado appears to be starting to fall from the months-long surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the more contagious delta mutants, new variants of the virus have alerted the world. I am.

Authorities say there is much unknown about Omicron variants, and that fact may be the most important thing to know now. Still, many countries, including the United States, have begun to restrict overseas travel after the variant was publicly announced last week.

“Sooner or later we will see cases of this new variant in the United States,” President Joe Biden said in a speech from the White House on Monday. “This variant is not a panic, but a cause of concern.”

This variant responded very strongly due to the large number of mutations, but what exactly these mutations mean is still under investigation. What is not known is how contagious this new variant is, how well current vaccines work to prevent it, and how serious individual cases are.

Named after the Greek letter “Omicron” by the World Health Organization, this variant was first discovered in southern Africa earlier this month and appears to have contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in that country. The first positive cases of this variant were tested for the virus on November 9, according to a WHO statement updated on Monday.

Subspecies are currently surfaced in almost 12 countries, but WHO states that most of these cases are due to travel and do not spread in these countries, but that is expected to change.

Despite attempts to thwart travel bans and other variants before they spread, local officials say it is likely only a matter of time before cases of this variant are found in the United States. I did.

“We live in a global world. Lauren Bryan, an infectious disease preventive physician at the UC HealthYampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, said:” This travel ban is cute. They are proactive. Thank you for trying to study it, but there is already something as contagious as COVID here. “

According to Brian, what can be delayed when a case of this virus is found is a large backlog of positive COVID-19 tests awaiting treatment and sequencing by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. .. Not all COVID-19 tests are perfectly sequenced for variants, but many PCR tests, such as those done in hospitals, are sent to state laboratories.

“COVID-19 is probably with us. Part of its continuation is the emergence of variants, which should not be the cause of panic each time a variant is identified.” Roberta Smith, Director of Public Health, Laut County, said. “The best thing people can do is get the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters.”

On Monday, WHO said that Omicron is a very diverse variant, simply meaning that there are many mutations. In particular, some people are concerned that the variant “may be associated with a potential antigenic escape and higher infectivity.”

“The challenge is that we don’t always have enough data to know,” says Brian. “It looks like it could be more contagious, but we did that before. Alpha was more contagious than our ancestral strains. Delta is more contagious than Alpha.”

Brian said that the virus that causes COVID-19 is very large compared to other viruses and has many opportunities to mutate as it spreads.

“It has 30,000 different sequences and is constantly changing. That’s what the virus does,” Brian said. “It causes few genetic errors, and the larger the sequence of an organism, the more errors it can cause.”

According to Brian, the emergence of such variants in low-income countries with low vaccination rates is not surprising. In these places, the virus is easy to spread and the virus is likely to mutate.

Vaccination rates in Africa are low, with South Africa having one of the highest rates in almost a quarter of the fully vaccinated population. In another country where the subspecies was found, Botswana, 20% are fully vaccinated, while 38% are at least the first vaccinated.

“Lower vaccine intake means higher numbers of hosts, which means higher numbers of mutations,” says Brian.

Brian said he is currently planning a trip for Bruce Break on how much this new stock should warn the locals and is not going to stop for news of the new variant-she. Said to take out travel insurance.

As the respiratory virus protocol has been tested and is true, the recommendations on how to protect yourself from variants have not changed.

“The public health message remains the same,” Smith said. “Get the COVID-19 vaccine, stay home when you’re sick, wash your hands, make sure you’re in a well-ventilated room or outdoors for a meeting, limit the meeting, and (and) a crowded indoor space. Wear a mask at. A layered approach helps with this respiratory illness. “

To contact Dylan Anderson, call 970-871-4247 or send an email [email protected]..