Many countries in Europe have identified people infected with the Omicron strain, and the world is highly nervous. Europe and the United States quickly cut off air links with eight African countries such as South Africa. Israel's response was particularly thorough. It announced that its borders would be closed for 14 days and all foreigners would not be allowed to enter.
What does Omicron look like?
On November 27th, the research team of Rome children's Hospital in Italy released the world's first picture of COVID-19's new variant of the drug.
△ comparison of spike protein mutations between Delta and Omicron strains (picture from Rome children's Hospital)
The picture shows that the Omicron strain has more spike protein mutations than the delta strain of the new crown variant virus. These variations are diverse, and most of them are located in the region of interaction with human cells. (related report: when the new crown "super variant" strikes, the world will lose again? We have deduced three possibilities)
Two flights from South Africa to the Netherlands, 61 people! Thirteen of them were infected with the Omicron variant
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on November 28 that the Dutch National Institute of public health and environment (RIVM) confirmed that there were 13 cases of "Omicron" variant infection among passengers from South Africa. The Dutch health minister warned that more cases of "Omicron" infection may occur in the country.
Prior to this, CCTV news integrated Washington Post and Agence France-Presse news, local time 27, the Ministry of Health issued a statement in Holland, 26 of 600 passengers from South Africa to Holland, 61 passengers were found to be positive for COVID-19.
The Dutch government is contacting about 5000 people who have traveled in southern African countries since November 22, and asking them to go to medical institutions for virus testing as soon as possible.
Royal Air Services in Holland responded earlier that 624 passengers on two flights from South Africa had been tested for new crown vaccination or negative nucleic acid tests before boarding 26 flights. But after arriving in Amsterdam, 61 passengers were tested positive in COVID-19, and airlines were surprised, but there is no explanation.
13 novel coronavirus pneumonia strains were identified in 13 of the 61 South African travelers who had confirmed the new crown pneumonia in Holland, local time announced in November 28th. Therefore, the Netherlands has become the country with the most cases of infection with Omicron mutant in European countries.
Researchers are still sequencing the remaining positive cases, and it is not ruled out that more cases infected with the Omicron variant will be found.
At least 9 countries and regions report! Exposure of Omicron strain
Since November 24th, South Africa reported to WHO that the new COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 Omicron has been reported in 9 countries and regions in Botswana, Belgium, Israel, Britain, Germany, Italy, China, Hongkong and Australia for the 5 days so far. In addition, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are also suspected to have traces of this mutant strain, and further virus gene sequencing is being done.
French health minister Velan told the media at the new crown vaccination center in the 18 District of Paris. At present, the French mainland has not confirmed the emergence of COVID-19 mutant by the viral gene sequencing. However, in view of the fact that Belgium, Germany and Italy have found relevant cases, he thinks that the mutation of the Olympic Games has spread in France. Veron said it may be only a matter of time before the mutant is detected in France.
Novel coronavirus pneumonia was confirmed in Hongkong at the time of 0:00 in November 28th, and the Hongkong health department's health protection center announced 3 new cases of crown pneumonia. Up to now, 12428 cases (including 12427 confirmed cases and one suspected case) have been reported in Hongkong. The new cases are all imported cases. Two cases involve the infection of mutant virus strains, and the detection results of another mutant virus strain are to be determined. The cases involved three men, aged between 37 and 80, who all arrived from the designated area (medium risk) in group B. One person tested positive while waiting for transfer in the restricted area of the Hong Kong International Airport, and the other two were diagnosed during quarantine.
At present, no cases of Omicron infection have been reported in the mainland of China. The reporter inquired the official website of the Civil Aviation Administration and found that there were only circuit breaker announcements related to flights in South Africa in the past week.
More than 20 countries have taken restrictive measures
The discovery of Omicron strain in South Africa and other countries has aroused great global vigilance. So far, about 20 national and regional governments have successively issued or prepared to introduce entry restrictions on flights and passengers from southern African countries.
Among them, the British government said on the 26th that from the same day, flights from South Africa and five surrounding countries will be banned, and personnel with relevant travel history will be required to undergo nucleic acid testing and isolation.
On the same day, Switzerland announced that it would ban all non-stop flights from Botswana, South Africa and other countries indefinitely.
On November 26 local time, the Italian Ministry of health has decided to prohibit the entry of people who have stayed in eight African countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe in the past 14 days.
The German disease control agency has classified South Africa as a "virus mutation area", and all people entering Germany from South Africa must undergo 14 days of compulsory isolation, whether they have been vaccinated or not.
The Pakistan national command and Action Center issued a circular on November 27th that Pakistan issued a travel ban on passengers from South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia.
In addition, Russia also announced that it would ban the entry of foreign citizens from some countries and regions such as South Africa from the 28th of this month.
According to US media reports, the US government will impose travel restrictions on citizens from seven countries including South Africa from the 29th of this month.
Health Canada also announced on the 26th that foreign citizens who have been to southern African countries in the past 14 days will be banned from entering.
Israel has banned its citizens from traveling to southern Africa after discovering new cases of variant virus infection in its territory. On the 28th local time, Israel decided to ban all foreigners from entering the country, which will last for 14 days.
Singapore and Malaysia announced on the 26th that they would prohibit the entry of tourists who have recently visited 7 countries such as South Africa.
The India government has issued a reminder that local governments should implement COVID-19 testing and health screening for international travelers from South Africa and other "risk zone" countries.
Japan has also implemented measures to ground inbound flights and isolate passengers against South Africa and other countries.
South Korea's epidemic prevention department announced that from 0:00 on the 28th, foreigners from eight countries such as South Africa were prohibited from entering the country to prevent the new crown mutant strain "Omicron" from entering the country. South Korea has not yet found cases of infection with "Omicron".
For the travel ban issued by many countries around the world, the South African government responded on the 26th that the implementation of travel restrictions on passengers from South Africa is harsh and unscientific, and this practice is also inconsistent with the recommendations of who.
China's embassy in South Africa, WeChat official account, reported on November 28th that South African officials announced the discovery of a new crown mutation virus, Omicron, which has been rising rapidly in recent days. In order to reduce cross infection and ensure the epidemic prevention safety of themselves and their families, the Chinese Embassy in South Africa reminded the overseas Chinese in South Africa:
1. Strictly carry out personal protection, adhere to wearing masks, maintain social distance and develop good personal hygiene habits. Try not to go to crowded places or participate in large-scale gathering activities.
2. Insist on unnecessary and non travel, and try to avoid long-distance travel, especially long-distance travel by public transport.
3. Those who have not been vaccinated should actively consider participating in the south national vaccination plan in combination with their personal physical conditions, and vaccinate nearby and as soon as possible, so as to maintain their own health and safety.
4. Pay close attention to their own health status. If there are abnormalities, they should be found, isolated and treated early. If the infection is unfortunately confirmed, please seek medical treatment in time and contact the Chinese Embassy and consulate in Yugoslavia and the local police and people's Center for necessary assistance.
American experts: the infectivity of the new mutant strain may be increased by 500%
On the 26th local time, Ding Liang, a Chinese American epidemiologist and senior researcher of the American Federation of scientists, pointed out that compared with the delta variant, the number of "bad thorn mutations" of the new variant is twice as much as that of delta, "b.1.1.529 variant may have 500% strong infectivity, which is the most shocking statistics so far".
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 mutant B.1.1.529, the United States will start travel restrictions on citizens from eight countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique, starting in November 29th.
Does Omicron have a great impact on China? The latest research and judgment of Zhong Nanshan, Zhang Wenhong and Wu Zunyou has come
Zhong Nanshan: it will take some time to judge the harmfulness of Omicron
On November 28, the first national conference of respiratory branch of China rare diseases alliance was held in Guangzhou. Zhong Nanshan, academician of Chinese Academy of engineering, attended the conference and delivered a speech. Academician Zhong Nanshan said that Omicron spread faster: "this mutant (Omicron) Very new, although molecular genetic testing has found that there are many changes in the receptor binding site, how harmful it is, how fast it will spread, whether it will make the disease more serious, and whether it needs vaccine research and development, it is still too early to draw a conclusion. The harmfulness of Omicron mutant needs to be judged for a period of time We should pay attention at any time, but we will not take any major action yet. Another thing that needs more attention is to prevent and control personnel from relevant places in South Africa. "
Zhang Wenhong: it will not have a great impact on China
Zhang Wenhong, head of novel coronavirus pneumonia clinical group and Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University director of infectious diseases, said on 28, micro-blog, "the mutation of the virus in South Africa is accidental, but whether it will threaten the current fragile population of the initial establishment, it takes about two weeks to observe the time of the virus." "Zhang Wenhong,"
He pointed out that the new mutant strain will not have a great impact on China at present. China's current rapid response and dynamic clearing strategy can deal with various types of new crown variants.
Zhang Wenhong explained that once it is clear that the Omicron strain can break through the original immune barrier, it means that we must adjust all existing vaccine systems and start to enter the influenza vaccination mode, that is, we should quickly construct a new vaccine according to the virus variation every year; It also means that the days will become more difficult.
Wu Zunyou: wearing masks and other measures are effective for all mutant strains
At the 2022 annual meeting of Caijing held on the morning of November 28, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of China Center for Disease Control and prevention, said that the containment "clearing" policy is a "magic weapon" for China to control the epidemic situation, and this "magic weapon" has a very good effect; As long as we adhere to the normal prevention and control measures, we can prevent the epidemic of Omicron strain.
The global epidemic situation is unevenly distributed. Key Epidemic countries account for 60% of the global epidemic situation, of which up to 10 countries account for more than 150 million, accounting for 60% of the world. "The mathematical model shows that Omicron is more infectious than Delta, and delta is more infectious. We have felt that it spreads fast, but it is clear that no matter how the variation is, our public health measures are effective." he introduced that public health measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance are effective for all mutant strains.
Zhang Boli: we should take measures from six aspects
In an interview with the health times on November 27, Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, pointed out that there is a trend of accelerated virus mutation in the world, and we should take measures from six aspects.
Strengthen monitoring and tracking, establish sequence database, improve sequencing frequency and quantity, and timely report important mutations found;
Establish a national virus strain bank, infected serum and antibody bank, study the driving factors of virus variation, establish the research methods of virus phenotype, transmission ability, pathogenicity and vaccine escape, and clarify the pathogenic mechanism of the virus;
Improve the convenience and accessibility of detection, establish a technical platform for identification and rapid detection of mutant strains, and reserve the rapid detection technology of mutant strains;
Strengthen the R & D and promotion of rapid detection technology to improve the convenience and accessibility of detection; Carry out research on specific antiviral drugs;
Encourage research and development of various types of vaccines;
Adhere to and improve the treatment formula of both Chinese and Western medicine.
Several vaccine manufacturers have begun to deal with Omicron
At present, several vaccine R & D manufacturers said that they are studying the impact of Omicron on the vaccine, and some manufacturers have begun to deal with it.
According to the global times on the 28th, it was learned from kangxinuo biology Co., Ltd. that kangxinuo biology is highly concerned about the "Omicron" mutant and is currently collecting and analyzing the information related to the mutant. It is understood that kangxinuo biology has started vaccine research and development for new mutant strains. Relevant people said, "in view of the advantages of kangxinuo biological adenovirus vector technology platform and mRNA technology platform, once the protection of the existing vaccine is found to be reduced, kangxinuo is confident to come up with a new vaccine for mutant strains in the shortest time."
Paul Burton, chief medical officer of modner, said he suspected COVID-19 mutant "Paul" had the ability to escape the existing vaccine. If so, the new crown vaccine for the variant of the will probably be available in early 2022. Modena had previously discussed plans to deal with the Omicron variant, including a new candidate vaccine for the variant virus numbered mrna-1273.529. The company said it was testing three new coronal vaccine candidate booster needles for this variant. Modena said that Omicron has mutations that are believed to increase transmission in the delta variant and mutations that are believed to promote immune escape in the beta and delta variants. The company says the combination of these mutations poses a significant potential risk for accelerating natural and vaccine induced immune decline.
According to the Beijing daily, Kexing is highly concerned about the information about COVID-19 Omicron mutation. It has started to collect and obtain relevant information and samples of the new mutation through the global partner network. It will carry out assessment and research as soon as possible to understand the impact of Omicron strain on the inactivated vaccine of COVID-19 and the necessity of developing variant vaccine. Kexing said that the company has mature vaccine production technology and large-scale production capacity. Previously, it has carried out the development of new crown inactivated vaccines for gamma strain and delta strain. If necessary, the company can quickly promote the development and large-scale production of new vaccines, and has the ability to ensure the vaccine demand.
AstraZeneca said the company is conducting research to collect data in two southern African countries in Botswana and Swati Ni, which will enable the company to collect real-world data for this variant strain. AstraZeneca also said that the company has cooperated with Oxford University to develop a vaccine platform to quickly respond to new variants. The vaccine platform was created at Oxford University. The company had previously said it was developing a variant vaccine to better target beta variants.
Pfizer and BioNTech have said they are investigating COVID-19's new variant Omicron (B.1.1.529). The two companies expect more experimental data within two weeks at the latest. The two companies said: "these data will provide more information about b.1.1.529. If the variant spreads around the world, we may need to adjust the vaccine." Pfizer and biontech pointed out that they can adjust their mRNA vaccine within six weeks and start wholesale delivery within 100 days. Johnson & Johnson said it was already testing its vaccine against new variants. The company said: "we are monitoring closely the new COVID-19 strain with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutation and have been testing the effectiveness of our vaccine against the rapidly spreading new COVID-19 found in South Africa."
Four A shares said they could detect "Omicron"
Domestically, including shuoshi Biology (688399), Zhijiang Biology (688317), Dongfang Biology (688298) and other testing reagent enterprises, all said that the company's products can effectively detect Omicron virus.
In November 27th, Shuo Shi bio announced that at present, Shuo Shi has completed the monitoring of all COVID-19 variants. The results of false virus synthesis and experimental verification of the key mutation sites confirmed that the New Coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescence PCR method) did not appear miss and missed detection for the above mutant strains, which could effectively ensure the specificity, accuracy and sensitivity of the detection.
On November 28, the official wechat of Zhijiang biology announced that Zhijiang biology carried out gene data monitoring and analysis for the first time according to the latest trends of virus variants. The New Coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescent PCR method), which has been listed on Zhijiang City, is used to identify and identify three target genes of ORF1ab, N Orient (688298) and E. The results confirm that the New Coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescent PCR method) has been listed on Zhijiang biology, and there will be no miss and missed detection. "Follow up river organisms will continue to closely track the latest developments of the global COVID-19 mutation, and ensure the accuracy and sensitivity of the detection reagent."
Hot view biology said that the company's existing products are still effective in detecting new mutant strains. "Through sequence alignment and bioinformatics analysis, the detection reagent can detect the 'Omicron' variant. In addition, alpha variant (b.1.1.7), beta variant (b.1.351), gamma variant (P.1), delta variant (b.1.617.2), kappa variant (b.1.617.1), ETA variant (b.1.525), Lota variant (b.1.526) and lambda variant (c.37) All can be covered without miss and missed detection, "the company said.
On the 28 day, Dongfang also released the "WeChat mutation detection instructions" by official WeChat. It said that the company's New Coronavirus nucleic acid detection kit could be detected effectively by a large number of nucleic acid sequence analysis.
However, according to China Fund News, the so-called "effective detection" of Dongfang biology is only predicted through nucleic acid sequence comparison, and laboratory verification has not been completed yet. The situation of other companies is similar. Many investors expect the share price of the above companies to rise sharply on Monday, and some investors think it is a "hot spot" and need to be wary of chasing high risks. None of the above four companies disclosed relevant information through legal information disclosure channels.
Compared with the new crown reagent testing company's claim that the product is effective for the mutant strain, the new crown vaccine company seems to be relatively cautious. The two new crown vaccine giants kangxinuo biology and Kexing said they are collecting and analyzing the mutant strain information.
Global Times editorial: China is the strongest line of defense against the attack of new strains
American epidemiologist fudge said that the Omicron strain may have appeared in the United States, but it has not been found. COVID-19 gene sequencing in the United States is generally slow.
South Africa, which has been cut off by many countries, is quite aggrieved. Some African officials complain that the selfish policy of western countries to stockpile vaccines has led to the emergence of Omicron strain. Such criticism is at least partly justified.
Western countries control most of the resources to fight COVID-19, but they themselves have not checked the spread of the virus, and China has exposed more developing countries to the virus. In addition to China and a few countries becoming oases, too many human communities provide a very favorable environment for virus transmission and mutation. Although most of the mutated new strains are short-lived, it is inevitable that some of them evolve into more aggressive. The prevalence of delta strain proves this, and Omicron strain is forming a new challenge.
Some preliminary signs lead to severe speculation: the Omicron strain has more spike protein mutations, diversified variations, and most of them are located in the area of interaction with human cells. Therefore, its transmission is likely to be stronger and can break through the immune barrier, so it may be more dangerous than the delta strain. These have yet to be verified.
The opening-up route of the United States and Europe some time ago is facing a test. Major western countries have cut off air links with South Africa and other countries, reflecting that the hearts of those countries are beating drums. The establishment of immune barrier by vaccine alone has actually proved to be a risky route, and even failed to a great extent. It is not clear how much the Omicron strain has penetrated into western society, but it is almost certain that there are not only a few cases found so far. There are few barriers outside the vaccine in the West. If this new strain is really infectious, there is a high risk that a large number of countries will fall next.
China's dynamic clearing route was criticized by the West from many angles some time ago, but when the Omicron strain launched a new impact, China was the most capable of stopping their invasion. Dynamic zeroing has promoted China to form a complete system, which has both scientific spirit and political decision-making power, as well as strong social organization and the willingness of the broad masses of the people to cooperate. China is a real iron wall against the spread of the virus in the world today.
Between mankind and COVID-19, it is destined to be a marathon war, and it is possible for the virus to shape the human behavior pattern more than climate change. China responds to challenges with a realistic attitude and is not kidnapped by anything a priori. It can do whatever is most effective to protect people's lives, health and safety, and adjust what is most beneficial to maintaining normal economic operation. This country has strength and unity, so we can repel the ferocious impact of waves of viruses.
It is understandable that the characteristics of Western society make it difficult to follow the Chinese anti epidemic route. However, western public opinion's attack on China's dynamic zeroing line has become a serious betrayal of the spirit of seeking truth from facts. In particular, the US government hopes to reap geopolitical interests from the fight against the epidemic, or cover up their fight against the epidemic by political means. The Secretary of state Blinken praised the China's overtones of the "threat" of the "secret" virus. However, wave after wave of reality will educate American and Western politicians, and China's anti epidemic achievements will eventually shine in history.
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