Those who have not yet had COVID-19 and have not been vaccinated can tolerate the "omicron" strain of coronavirus the hardest. For the rest, it will become “a way to get an update for the immune system,” says Pavel Volchkov, head of the MIPT genomic engineering laboratory. Problematic disease "omicron" can be in children. More details - in the material "Gazeta.Ru". People who have never been sick with COVID-19 and have not been vaccinated against coronavirus can hardly tolerate the new omicron strain. Pavel Volchkov, virologist, head of the MIPT genomic engineering laboratory, told Ura.ru about this on Saturday, December 18.

“We already have a huge number of people who have both been ill and vaccinated. For this group of people, the omicron will be an easy story. As an update. What we originally predicted. This is our immune system's way of getting an update to the omicron too. But those people who have not been ill can have serious consequences, ”he explained.

It is increasingly difficult for the coronavirus to get close to people who have not yet met an infection, Volchkov noted.

“It is more and more difficult for both the“ delta ”and the“ omicron ”to get close to people who have not yet recovered, because they somehow managed to stay in the immunological buffer for two years, apparently from people who had recovered from the disease, who, due to their own immunity, provided them with such inviolability, ”the expert added.

For people with chronic diseases, COVID-19 is still dangerous, said, in turn, the virologist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pyotr Chumakov.

“Elderly people with chronic diseases, chronically weakened people, that is, as always, those who do not have enough strength to endure even small stresses will be most seriously ill,” he stated.

Children with the omicron strain can also be problematic.

“A lot of young people and even children are infected. And small children also lack the strength to fight serious infections, so there may be problems among them too. But so far it is not at all clear what complications there may be after the postponed version of the omicron, "the expert noted.

One of the unusual symptoms of omicron is loss of appetite, writes the Express edition, citing a study of the ZOE Covid Symptom program.

Scientists have compiled a list of common symptoms based on data from an app that tracks the most common signs of COVID-19. It turned out that the sick most often complain of a runny nose, increased fatigue, frequent sneezing, sore throat and headache. At the same time, a little less often than others, loss of appetite occurs in patients.

Infected with omicron, patients often complain of sore throat and lower back pain, The Sun reported, citing data from experts from South Africa.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova previously indicated that in Russia, “omicron” was detected in 25 people. The strain, as of December 16, was found in 89 countries in all six WHO regions, the World Health Organization said.

It spreads much faster than the delta, with the number of confirmed cases doubling in one and a half to three days.

It is noted that the high rate of spread of "omicron" is also typical for countries with a high level of population immunity. WHO experts understand the reasons for this.

The rate of spread of the infection ...

Over the past day, 27 434 people have been infected with coronavirus in Russia. According to the federal operational headquarters, 1,076 people died from the consequences of the disease.

The spread of coronavirus in the country as a whole rose to 0.95, according to TASS calculations. The indicator shows how many people, on average, have time to infect one infected person before they are isolated.

... and vaccinations

As of December 17, 2021, Russia is in 93rd place in the world in terms of the level of vaccination of the population. This figure is 42.72% (according to the stopcoronavirus.rf website, Johns Hopkins University and the Our World in Data project).

More than half of Russians (61%) fear that they or their loved ones may contract COVID-19. 14% are sure that this will not happen to them or their loved ones, according to the results of the VTsIOM poll.

54% of respondents have a positive attitude towards mass vaccination, about a third (30%) have a negative attitude towards it, and 12% are indifferent.

42% of respondents declare that they have already been vaccinated, 27% would like to be vaccinated, and 29% would not be vaccinated.

Half of the Russians surveyed (51%) stated that they had already received a QR code, 48% - that they had not received it.

Of those who have already received a QR code, only 5% faced difficulties, and 46% did not. 49% found it difficult to answer this question.

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