Omicron-stricken South Africa may be a glimpse into the future of COVID-19

close

Video

Dr. Siegel interviews CDC director on COVID omicron variant

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel on his interview with Dr. Rochelle Walensky on the severity of omicron.

Dr. Sikhulile Moyo was analyzing COVID-19 samples in his lab in Botswana last week when he noticed they looked startlingly different from others.

Within days, the world was ablaze with the news that the coronavirus had a new variant of concern — one that appears to be driving a dramatic surge in South Africa and offering a glimpse of where the pandemic might be headed.

New COVID-19 cases in South Africa have burgeoned from about 200 a day in mid-November to more than 16,000 on Friday. Omicron was detected over a week ago in the country’s most populous province, Gauteng, and has since spread to all eight other provinces, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said.

Even with the rapid increase, infections are still below the 25,000 new daily cases that South Africa reported in the previous surge, in June and July.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS DOMESTIC TRAVEL VACCINE REQUIREMENTS ON THE TABLE DUE TO OMICRON VARIANT

Little is known about the new variant, but the spike in South Africa suggests it might be more contagious, said Moyo, the scientist who may have been the first to identify the new variant, though researchers in neighboring South Africa were close on his heels. Omicron has more than 50 mutations, and scientists have called it a big jump in the evolution of the virus.

An Orange Farm, South Africa, resident listens to a nurse after receiving his jab against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021 at the Orange Farm multipurpose center. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

This undated image provided by the Botswana-Harvard Partnership shows Dr. Sikhulile Moyo. Moyo was analyzing COVID-19 samples in his lab in Botswana when he noticed they looked startlingly different from others. Within days, the world was ablaze with the news that the coronavirus had a new variant of concern called omicron, which appears to be driving a dramatic surge in South Africa. (Botswana-Harvard Partnership via AP)

It’s not clear if the variant causes more serious illness or can evade the protection of vaccines. Phaahla noted that only a small number of people who have been vaccinated have gotten sick, mostly with mild cases, while the vast majority of those who have been hospitalized were not vaccinated.

But in a worrisome development, South African scientists reported that omicron appears more likely than earlier variants to cause reinfections among people who have already had a bout with COVID-19.

People who just received their jab against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021 wait for their vaccine card to be processed at the Orange Farm, South Africa, multipurpose center. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

People who have just received their jab against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021 wait for their vaccine card to be processed at the Orange Farm, South Africa, multipurpose center. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

"Previous infection used to protect against delta, and now with omicron it doesn’t seem to be the case," one of the researchers, Anne von Gottberg of the University of Witwatersrand, said at a World Health Organization briefing on Thursday.

OMICRON VARIANT OF COVID-19 FOUND IN MULTIPLE US STATES

While the study did not examine the protection offered by vaccination, von Gottberg said: "We believe that vaccines will still, however, protect against severe disease."

The findings, posted online Thursday, are preliminary and haven’t yet undergone scientific review.

A staff member is seen at the Vaccination Centre of Hope at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. The mass Covid-19 vaccination site is closing today after vaccinating more than 136 000 people at the Western Cape's first mass vaccination centre. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

South Africa’s hospitals are so far coping with the surge, even those in Gauteng province, which accounts for more than 70% of all new infections, Phaahla said.

The picture could change because most of those infected thus far have been younger people who generally do not get as sick as older patients. But Moyo expressed hope that vaccines would continue to work against the variant.

"I have a lot of hope from the data that we see that those vaccinated should be able to have a lot of protection," he said.

That dovetails with what officials from WHO in Asia said Friday.

Residents stand in the streets of Lawley, South Africa, during a visit of local government officials for the launch of the Vooma vaccination program against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Volunteers go door to door with vaccination information material in Lawley, South Africa, during a visit of local government officials for the launch of the Vooma vaccination program against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a facility in Soweto, South Africa, Wednesday Dec. 2, 2021. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign by giving jabs at pop-up sites in shopping centers and transport hubs to combat the rapidly rising new cases of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

While warning that cases could well rise quickly because of omicron, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said the measures used against the delta variant — which itself caused surges the world over — should remain at the core of the response.

"The positive news in all of this is that none of the information we have currently about omicron suggests we need to change the directions of our response," Kasai said.

An Orange Farm, South Africa, resident listens to a nurse after receiving his jab against COVID-19 Friday Dec. 3, 2021 at the Orange Farm multipurpose center. South Africa has accelerated its vaccination campaign a week after the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

That means continuing to push for higher vaccination rates, abiding by social-distancing guidelines and wearing masks, among other measures, said WHO Regional Emergency Director Dr. Babatunde Olowokure.

While more than three dozen countries worldwide have reported omicron infections, the numbers so far are small outside of South Africa. That has led many countries to race to impose travel restrictions on visitors from Southern Africa — a move WHO officials said may buy some time, though the agency previously urged against the closing of borders.

Noesqui Muanza, 33, receives a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccination Centre of Hope at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. The mass Covid-19 vaccination site is closing today after vaccinating more than 136 000 people at the Western Cape's first mass vaccination centre. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

The travel restrictions have been severely criticized by South Africa, which says it is being punished for being transparent and moving so quickly to alert the world to omicron. WHO said it was notified by the country on Nov. 24 about the new variant.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"What we must reemphasize is that while our scientists and those in Botswana were the first to discover and report on the variant, no one knows where it originated," Phaahla said.