Latest information from the doctor
Hello Everyone,
Covid infections were at their peak a couple of weeks ago and had been steadily reducing since. However we are now seeing another increase due to lifting of restrictions, children returning to school and the emergence of a slightly different version of Omicron.
It is not a new variant but a different ‘subtype.’ We all know by now that the more a virus is given a chance to spread the greater the risk of it evolving and mutating. The Omicron Covid-19 variant has so far four different subtypes identified: BA.1 (the original), BA.2, BA.3 and BA1.1. The main differences are in the spike protein that poke out of its surface and allow the virus to latch on and enter human cells. BA.2 is now growing rapidly and in Denmark and parts of South Africa it is already the dominant strain having overtaken the original Omicron (BA.1).
Studies suggest that BA.2 is over 40% more infectious than the BA.1 but does not seem to cause more severe disease. In the UK this new subtype of Omicron is spreading fast and at the moment accounts for about 8% of cases. It is doubling every 4 days and will probably become the dominant Covid virus in the next 2-3 weeks which means that more people will become infected in the current Omicron wave. So just as Delta displaced Alpha and Omicron displaced Delta so BA.2 will displace Omicron.
The vaccines are still effective against it – especially if you’ve had the booster as well. In the US BA.1 seems to be being rapidly replaced by BA.1.1 in some states and BA.2 in others. The good news is that because these subtypes are quite similar having had one will also give some natural immunity to the other. So if you have had Omicron (BA.1) already you are very unlikely to get anything more than very mild symptoms (if at all) from BA.2.
We also know that infection with Delta does not provide much protection against Omicron but having Omicron infection gives you good protection against Delta which is probably why Delta is fading fast. This is really good news because Delta causes much more serious illness and deaths than Omicron. Some people will say why not just wait for ‘natural immunity’ from an infection and not have the vaccine. Well the biggest advantage of having the vaccines is that they cover a much broader range of Covid variants whereas natural immunity will usually only cover the one that you were infected with - apart from Omicron/Delta as mentioned above.
As a society we still have to be pretty careful and need to be mindful of spreading the virus – it can still cause serious illness and death in certain groups of vulnerable patients. We are also getting more children affected with it. This is probably because it is so contagious and so many children are being affected that even a small percentage who get the virus turns out to be a big number who end up ill and sometimes in hospital. The main symptoms are just like having a bad cold so: runny nose, fever, headache, tiredness, muscular aches and pains, sore throat, persistent cough, hoarse voice and a reduced sense of smell.
So why does Omicron seem to give less severe disease than Delta? It is thought that Omicron affects the lower respiratory tract less than Delta and so causes less inflammation and likelihood of pneumonia. However it does affect the upper airways which is why some children under 5 years get symptoms of croup – a barking cough, often worse at night.
Most people will make a good recovery within a few weeks but we do know that there are over 1.3 million people in the UK suffering from Long Covid – many of these are children. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) seems to indicate that people who are double vaccinated are much less likely to report Long Covid – however at present this only covers Long Covid from Delta – its too early to tell how many people will get this from Omicron. One of the main effects of Long Covid is breathlessness – especially on exercise. Chest XRs and even CT scans don’t seem to show much up and both doctors and patients have been frustrated at the lack of any obvious changes.
However a new technique called Xenon gas inhalation MRI is being developed. Xenon acts like oxygen when inhaled – so it should transfer from the lungs into the bloodstream quite smoothly. However MRIs of certain patients whilst they are inhaling Xenon seems to indicate that some areas of the lungs just don’t work properly and do not allow Xenon/oxygen to flow. No one yet knows what the solution is – most people just seem to make a slow recovery with supportive help such as respiratory physiotherapy. At least now more research is being done to help the many more people who are and will be affected with Long Covid.
Now that Covid has been with us over 2 years some politicians are starting to mention the word ‘endemic.’ This means that the infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level - it usually implies a steady state without large peaks. So chickenpox and the common cold are endemic in the UK but Covid is certainly not. As long as Omicron and other variants are causing massive illness -however mild - and as long as this overburdens the healthcare sector then it cannot be called endemic. Omicron is less severe than Delta but being much more contagious is still leading to a significant number of hospital admissions and deaths. The speed of its spread and of the new BA.2 could also hasten the emergence of new more deadly variants.
So we are still in a pandemic but it will end at some point – all pandemics do. Some scientists think that the emergence of Omicron and its dominance over Delta maybe the first step towards this pandemic fading. So as always we need to continue to protect ourselves and our communities by:
· Wearing masks when appropriate eg when using public transport or shopping.
· Avoiding the three Cs:
o Closed spaces with poor ventilation
o Crowded places with many people nearby
o Close-contact settings such as close-range conversations
The risk of getting Covid is particularly high when all ‘three Cs’ overlap
· Getting fully vaccinated:
o The best way to protect yourself and prevent spread is get your two jabs then a booster.
o Having the booster gives much better protection against Omicron than just 2 jabs. You can get the booster 3 months after your 2ndjab. Vaccination may also improve your immunity against other variants that might come along in the future.
o Being fully vaccinated means that you are 8 x less likely to end up in hospital than someone who is unvaccinated.
o Being fully vaccinated means that you have much less chance of getting Long Covid which has serious long term effects which can be life-changing.
o Pregnancy changes your immune system and makes you more likely to become seriously ill with Covid. Vaccination is the best protection.
In rich developed countries we are lucky to have great vaccination programmes, testing facilities and medical care which help protect us and our loved ones. Unfortunately in poorer countries vaccination rates are still extremely low and Covid is running rampant in many areas. This will allow the virus to mutate and spread…eventually back to us with possibly another nasty variant. Let’s hope politicians, doctors and drug companies all over the world can work together to give everyone a chance for a vaccine. As the World Health Organisation has said before ‘No one is safe until we are all safe.’
Burnham Vaccination News:
We are continuing to offer Covid vaccinations at Burnham Health Centre. These appointments can be accessed via the National Booking Service by searching "book a Covid vaccination" on the internet. We are mainly running clinics on Monday afternoon/ evenings. We will soon be inviting our "at risk" 5–11 year-old children. Appointments can also be made at Salt Hill Vaccination Centre.
Stay Safe Everyone
Bye for now
Dr M Tanvir Jamil
Senior Partner
Burnham Health Centre
Covid infections were at their peak a couple of weeks ago and had been steadily reducing since. However we are now seeing another increase due to lifting of restrictions, children returning to school and the emergence of a slightly different version of Omicron.
It is not a new variant but a different ‘subtype.’ We all know by now that the more a virus is given a chance to spread the greater the risk of it evolving and mutating. The Omicron Covid-19 variant has so far four different subtypes identified: BA.1 (the original), BA.2, BA.3 and BA1.1. The main differences are in the spike protein that poke out of its surface and allow the virus to latch on and enter human cells. BA.2 is now growing rapidly and in Denmark and parts of South Africa it is already the dominant strain having overtaken the original Omicron (BA.1).
Studies suggest that BA.2 is over 40% more infectious than the BA.1 but does not seem to cause more severe disease. In the UK this new subtype of Omicron is spreading fast and at the moment accounts for about 8% of cases. It is doubling every 4 days and will probably become the dominant Covid virus in the next 2-3 weeks which means that more people will become infected in the current Omicron wave. So just as Delta displaced Alpha and Omicron displaced Delta so BA.2 will displace Omicron.
The vaccines are still effective against it – especially if you’ve had the booster as well. In the US BA.1 seems to be being rapidly replaced by BA.1.1 in some states and BA.2 in others. The good news is that because these subtypes are quite similar having had one will also give some natural immunity to the other. So if you have had Omicron (BA.1) already you are very unlikely to get anything more than very mild symptoms (if at all) from BA.2.
We also know that infection with Delta does not provide much protection against Omicron but having Omicron infection gives you good protection against Delta which is probably why Delta is fading fast. This is really good news because Delta causes much more serious illness and deaths than Omicron. Some people will say why not just wait for ‘natural immunity’ from an infection and not have the vaccine. Well the biggest advantage of having the vaccines is that they cover a much broader range of Covid variants whereas natural immunity will usually only cover the one that you were infected with - apart from Omicron/Delta as mentioned above.
As a society we still have to be pretty careful and need to be mindful of spreading the virus – it can still cause serious illness and death in certain groups of vulnerable patients. We are also getting more children affected with it. This is probably because it is so contagious and so many children are being affected that even a small percentage who get the virus turns out to be a big number who end up ill and sometimes in hospital. The main symptoms are just like having a bad cold so: runny nose, fever, headache, tiredness, muscular aches and pains, sore throat, persistent cough, hoarse voice and a reduced sense of smell.
So why does Omicron seem to give less severe disease than Delta? It is thought that Omicron affects the lower respiratory tract less than Delta and so causes less inflammation and likelihood of pneumonia. However it does affect the upper airways which is why some children under 5 years get symptoms of croup – a barking cough, often worse at night.
Most people will make a good recovery within a few weeks but we do know that there are over 1.3 million people in the UK suffering from Long Covid – many of these are children. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) seems to indicate that people who are double vaccinated are much less likely to report Long Covid – however at present this only covers Long Covid from Delta – its too early to tell how many people will get this from Omicron. One of the main effects of Long Covid is breathlessness – especially on exercise. Chest XRs and even CT scans don’t seem to show much up and both doctors and patients have been frustrated at the lack of any obvious changes.
However a new technique called Xenon gas inhalation MRI is being developed. Xenon acts like oxygen when inhaled – so it should transfer from the lungs into the bloodstream quite smoothly. However MRIs of certain patients whilst they are inhaling Xenon seems to indicate that some areas of the lungs just don’t work properly and do not allow Xenon/oxygen to flow. No one yet knows what the solution is – most people just seem to make a slow recovery with supportive help such as respiratory physiotherapy. At least now more research is being done to help the many more people who are and will be affected with Long Covid.
Now that Covid has been with us over 2 years some politicians are starting to mention the word ‘endemic.’ This means that the infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level - it usually implies a steady state without large peaks. So chickenpox and the common cold are endemic in the UK but Covid is certainly not. As long as Omicron and other variants are causing massive illness -however mild - and as long as this overburdens the healthcare sector then it cannot be called endemic. Omicron is less severe than Delta but being much more contagious is still leading to a significant number of hospital admissions and deaths. The speed of its spread and of the new BA.2 could also hasten the emergence of new more deadly variants.
So we are still in a pandemic but it will end at some point – all pandemics do. Some scientists think that the emergence of Omicron and its dominance over Delta maybe the first step towards this pandemic fading. So as always we need to continue to protect ourselves and our communities by:
· Wearing masks when appropriate eg when using public transport or shopping.
· Avoiding the three Cs:
o Closed spaces with poor ventilation
o Crowded places with many people nearby
o Close-contact settings such as close-range conversations
The risk of getting Covid is particularly high when all ‘three Cs’ overlap
· Getting fully vaccinated:
o The best way to protect yourself and prevent spread is get your two jabs then a booster.
o Having the booster gives much better protection against Omicron than just 2 jabs. You can get the booster 3 months after your 2ndjab. Vaccination may also improve your immunity against other variants that might come along in the future.
o Being fully vaccinated means that you are 8 x less likely to end up in hospital than someone who is unvaccinated.
o Being fully vaccinated means that you have much less chance of getting Long Covid which has serious long term effects which can be life-changing.
o Pregnancy changes your immune system and makes you more likely to become seriously ill with Covid. Vaccination is the best protection.
In rich developed countries we are lucky to have great vaccination programmes, testing facilities and medical care which help protect us and our loved ones. Unfortunately in poorer countries vaccination rates are still extremely low and Covid is running rampant in many areas. This will allow the virus to mutate and spread…eventually back to us with possibly another nasty variant. Let’s hope politicians, doctors and drug companies all over the world can work together to give everyone a chance for a vaccine. As the World Health Organisation has said before ‘No one is safe until we are all safe.’
Burnham Vaccination News:
We are continuing to offer Covid vaccinations at Burnham Health Centre. These appointments can be accessed via the National Booking Service by searching "book a Covid vaccination" on the internet. We are mainly running clinics on Monday afternoon/ evenings. We will soon be inviting our "at risk" 5–11 year-old children. Appointments can also be made at Salt Hill Vaccination Centre.
Stay Safe Everyone
Bye for now
Dr M Tanvir Jamil
Senior Partner
Burnham Health Centre
