Q1: What are we learning about Omicron?

A: Omicron was first detected on November 11, 2021, in Botswana South Africa. Since mid-November it has spread to five continents, 40 countries, and 18 states in the United States. We have 40 confirmed cases in the United States both travel and community cases which means it is spreading among us. It is worrying scientists because of the number of mutations, particularly on the spike protein. Omicron has 32 mutations or changes on the spike protein compared to Delta which has nine changes on the spike protein. We pay attention to the spike protein because it is the “key” to our cells and if the virus changes to become a smarter “key” or finds another door we need to know about it.

Q2: Would you advise people to change behavior at this point?

A: We should be very careful not because of Omicron but also because we are in the middle of a pandemic. We have high transmission rates in the United States. I would advise people to gets vaccinated and the booster shot, wear masks especially among 60 + years old they should upgrade masks to N95. We need to leverage rapid antigen testing and keep spaces ventilated.

Q3: Is there any evidence that our current vaccine may not work against Omicron or future variants?

A: There’s always the possibility but we are very optimistic that our vaccines will work at least against severe disease and death. We believe boosters are going to play a significant role, they restimulate the immune system which means they increase the number of antibodies. Boosters can develop antibodies against more parts of the virus. We have seen this come out in recent studies that the factories that make antibodies are called “B” cells and they can adapt to new variants. Similar to a production factory, “B” cells can modify their products as needed so these cells can adapt to any variant including Omicron and create specific antibodies for Omicron. We are very hopeful for boosters.

Q4: How can we encourage people to get the booster?

A: Only 46% of that 65 plus who have been fully vaccinated have also received the booster. The reason I believe is that our communication as a nation from the CDC and FDA has not been clear on who’s eligible and why we’re getting this. Boosters are normal, we have them in most of our vaccines, i.e we get 5 DTap vaccines, 3 tetanus,3 HPV. Boosters ensure the longevity of our protection and are highly adaptable.

Q5: There are still people who will argue the natural immunity. How do we talk to them?

A: We have known that infection-induced immunity or natural immunity can be highly protective for the first 90 days and it can last long for certain people too. The problem is that the response is very random some people have protection for short time, and some don’t even get protection. We have no way to predict who will land in which category. Recent science from the World Health Organization (WHO) determined the categorization severity of Omicron was that reinfection with Omicron is 3x higher than Delta. Delta was 2-5 times higher than the Wuhan variant. Natural immunity is working well against Omicron.

Q6: When someone tests positive, how can we know which variant it is? How does that information flow?

A: The South African scientists gave us an important clue that helped our PCR test and the machines that test PCR detect this variant. When the PCR is positive with Omicron it lights up two channels instead of three channels which can help track this virus around the world.

Q7: Are there any new treatments on the horizon for COVID?

A: We have a new antiviral drug that just went through the FDA external Advisory Board and is yet to be approved for emergency use. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the drug is not as high as we anticipated.

Q8: What advice do you have for families for holiday gatherings?

A: I would recommend three days before the gathering using Rapid antigen tests.  If there are no symptoms test again the morning of the event/gathering. If everyone is vaccinated, that is also a positive sign.