Once the Institute for Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) confirmed that the first positive sample for the Omicron variant was detected in our country last week, specialists called to remain calm and use prevention as a way to combat the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 disease.
Alejandro Macías, professor at the University of Guanajuato, indicated that we have to “keep the same message: this is not over (…) you have to see it without alarms (…) but not be complacent, maintain equanimity.”
For his part, Mauricio Rodríguez Álvarez, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and spokesman for the UNAM Commission for Covid-19, stressed that the prevention measures against infections of the new variant are the same, that is, with widespread use of the “face mask; ventilation, hygiene, isolation, healthy distance ”.
He added that “we must also understand that we are not facing the beginning of the pandemic, we are in an absolutely different situation.”
Malaquías López Cervantes, academic from the Department of Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM, criticized for his part, that although prevention is essential to avoid infections, and that this has been known since the beginning of the pandemic, municipal governments , state and federal, have not been emphatic in promoting it among the population.
“It is not in the perspective of the authorities, apparently at any level of government, in the case of Mexico. Here it only reacts when it is already present and causes damage ”, he indicated.
On the other hand, the experts agreed that one of the situations that scientists will pay attention to is the evolution of Ómicron in the presence of the Delta variant that continues, until now, as the dominant one in Mexico and most of the world.
“We have to see if Delta will allow Ómicron to enter or if the same thing happens with the Mu variant, for example, which could not enter; this variation was left out of the Delta variant. The Alfa, Beta, and Gama variants were left out alongside the Delta variant, so now they have this rival in front of them, so to speak ”, said Rodríguez Álvarez.
Vaccine reactions
On the other hand, a report from the federal Ministry of Health (SSA) revealed that, until October 29, 31,095 Events Supposedly Attributable to Vaccination or Immunization (ESAVI) had been registered, that is, cases of side effects in people that have been inoculated with any of the vaccines against Covid-19, out of a total of 81 million 842,426 doses applied, at the same cut-off date.
The report indicated that of the more than 31,000 ESAVIs, 97.38% of the cases, that is, 30,279 were classified as non-serious, while the rest, 816 (2.62%) were considered serious.
“The highest proportion of severe and non-severe ESAVI cases occur in females with 59.80 and 72.50%, respectively. Regarding the distribution by age group, non-severe ESAVI mainly occur in the 30-39 age group, while severe ESAVI in those over 60 years of age ”, the report reads.
It was detailed that the main signs and symptoms presented in the ESAVIs classified as non-serious were: headache 64.78% (19,616), pain or tenderness at the application site 45.71% (13,841) and myalgia 40.11% (12,145).
While in severe ESAVI, headaches were 46.32% (378), asthenia and fatigue 37.87% (309) and dyspnea 31.50% (257).
“The entities that concentrate the highest number of notified ESAVIs are Mexico City with 13.07% (4,064) of the cases, Jalisco with 9.36% (2,912) and the State of Mexico with 7.27% (2,261)”, the document detailed.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx