MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2022) The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus has made containment measures such as strict lockdowns less effective, while many countries have begun to adjust their strategies to treat COVID-19 as an endemic, public health experts told Sputnik.
Since the Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa two months ago, the new strain has become the dominating force behind new infections around the world. As of late January, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases globally had jumped to over 3 million for the first time since the pandemic started in early 2020.
However, unlike previous surges that prompted harsh lockdown measures from various governments, many nations, especially a number of European countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark, have not increased their containment measures in response to the Omicron variant-driven infection surge.
Instead, some European countries even announced plans to ease containment measures by lifting restrictions on business activities and social gatherings in the near future.
Public health experts explained to Sputnik that the decision to move away from harsh lockdowns amid the wave driven by the Omicron strain has to do with the high transmissibility of the new coronavirus variant.
"The containment measures have not greatly diminished the high transmission rates of Omicron, unfortunately, but they did likely slow transmission down, so they are relaxing these as soon as the decline begins as the emphasis in using these was on reducing the peak, or flattening the curve, and they are now reassured that hospitals are not going to be overwhelmed. Some countries did try more severe restrictions, for example the Netherlands, but they too opened up when they realized tight restrictions were no longer effective against this highly virulent variant," Professor Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology at the Faculty of Health under the Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, told Sputnik.
Other public health experts warned that how many restrictions remain in place would still be critical in handling the ongoing surge.
"I don't believe a zero COVID strategy is feasible but we must try and reduce circulating virus levels. I therefore consider it unwise to move completely away from containment. The critical question is which restrictions should stay in place and which should be lifted," Jonathan Stoye, a virologist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, told Sputnik.
Shortly after the Omicron variant was identified in South Africa, early reports indicated that the new coronavirus strain appeared to be causing less severe illness among those infected. The hospitalization and fatality rates of the Omicron variant seemed to be lower than previously identified variants.
Professor Bennett pointed out that the apparently milder symptoms of the Omicron variant proved the effectiveness of existing COVID-19 vaccines.
"The protection the vaccination offers against serious illness was likely to be a big factor as this translates to more manageable hospital numbers even though the peak community infection rates far exceeded any seen in previous waves," she said.
This also allowed different countries to adopt a new strategy by learning to live with high levels of new infections in their communities, the expert added.
"There won't be a set rate as it will depend on in-country hospital capacity, but the general idea that countries will be able to ease restrictions and live with higher levels of transmission than they have tolerated before is now playing out across the world is likely to be what we see; with a mix of high rates of infection-induced community coming off the back of Omicron waves, and rising vaccination rates globally, allowing this," she said.
By learning to live with high levels of community transmission of the Omicron variant, many countries appeared to be ready to treat COVID-19 as an endemic where the new coronavirus would never be eliminated and would continue to coexist with the general population.
However, Professor Stoye stressed that even an endemic could still be lethal to vulnerable groups.
"One needs to be careful about these words. Endemic does not mean less lethal but rather that infection rates remain fairly constant. Thus, malaria is endemic in certain parts of the world but is killing more people in Africa than die from COVID-19," he said.
The expert argued that lockdowns could become necessary in the future if a new coronavirus variant causes severe illness once again.
"Yes, it is entirely possible. There is no reason why such a variant should not emerge. How lucky do we feel? I think there will be such a move to lift restrictions in Europe and North America but governments and their citizens must be prepared to contemplate sudden lockdowns if a more virulent virus emerges," he said.
However, Professor Bennett suggested that it was less likely for a more lethal coronavirus variant to emerge.
"It is possible, but unlikely as our previous exposure to a growing number of variants of the virus is now developing a broader immunity across populations, and vaccinations have contributed to reduce the severity of disease across all variants," she said.
Both experts believe that politicians in different countries would have to make their own decisions on what level of hospitalization and fatality rates would be manageable depending on the capacity of the local healthcare system.
