EWC Insights - The Omicron Transformation: A Virus Ups Its Game скачать в хорошем качестве

EWC Insights - The Omicron Transformation: A Virus Ups Its Game

East-West Center Senior Fellow and infectious disease expert Dr. Tim Brown gave an eye-opening presentation on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and the threat it poses today. After the Delta variant swept the world in mid-2021, many countries relaxed restrictions late in the year, believing the COVID-19 pandemic was almost behind them. But the failure to address the vaccine needs of over half the world’s population left the virus a fertile breeding ground to continue its own evolution. Until late November, the world mainly monitored the progress of Delta’s children and siblings, naively assuming they’d give rise to the next threat. But viruses are constantly evolving, and from the sheltering confines of the unvaccinated world, COVID-19 sprung its next surprise on an exhausted humanity: the Omicron variant. First reported to the World Health Organization from the sequencing labs of South Africa on November 24th, by November 26th WHO had declared it a variant of concern. A quantum leap in viral evolution, by early December, it was well on its way to claiming dominance in a growing number of countries. In the intervening weeks, the scientific community has come a long way in understanding Omicron, but there is still a long way to go. In this webinar, Dr. Brown spoke about: Factors that have made Omicron a serious contender for global dominance The effects of Omicron on existing tools for controlling COVID-19 and its impacts What’s needed to protect yourself, your families & your communities from Omicron