The scientist claims that people infected with Omicron do NOT stop being infectious any sooner than with past variants.
- Dutch virologist says she’s ‘not convinced’ Omicron’s infectious period is shorter
- Countries shortening the lockdown period do so because the option is less severe.
- Studies show that Omicron is released from 2 days before the onset of symptoms to 7 days after.
Scientists say that people infected with Omicron do not get rid of the virus faster than those who had earlier strains.
Many scientists believe that part of what makes Omicron so contagious is how quickly a person becomes contagious after being infected.
This theory, which also suggests that people get rid of the variant more quickly, has led most countries to shorten or eliminate the seven-day isolation period for positive cases entirely.
But Dr. Marjolein Irwin-Knester, a virologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said the data “doesn’t convince” her that this assumption is confirmed.
She pointed to a number of laboratory studies that still suggest that Omicron carriers are contagious two days before symptoms appear and up to seven days after they appear – just like other strains.
Dr. Irwin-Knester will tell tomorrow at a medical conference in Lisbon that the new option could throw everything up in the air again if countries stick to the reduced lockdown times.
However, she acknowledged that Omicron’s lesser severity makes him “acceptable” for now.
Research so far has suggested that a person who catches Omicron can transmit the virus to others from about two days before symptoms appear to seven days after they appear – just like other strains. Data from Oxford University researchers (shown in graph) show that almost all transmission occurs shortly before and after the onset of symptoms.
Her comments come a month after the legal requirement to isolate infected people was lifted in England. It has also been moved from law to government in Northern Ireland.
Scientists say organ donation from people who died from Covid is ‘safe’
It is safe to donate organs from people who have died from Covid to patients who have been vaccinated or previously infected, scientists say.
When the pandemic hit, the number of organ replacement surgeries “drastically dropped” around the world, with kidney, lung and liver transplants hit hardest.
In England, the number of transplants fell by 20% in the first year of the pandemic.
But Professor Paolo Grossi, an infectious disease expert at the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy, said “data continue to accumulate” that organ donation from people who have previously been infected is “safe”.
And even organs from donors with “active Covid infection may be considered” if their infection was asymptomatic and the virus was not the cause of their death.
Professor Grossi is scheduled to speak tomorrow at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases: “Based on growing global experience, we believe that organs from donors with past or active SARS-CoV-2 infection can be safely offered to immunocompetent candidates. against SARS-CoV-2 due to previous infection or vaccination.
“This could help increase the donor pool.”
He also pointed to 10 liver transplant recipients in Italy, two of whom had a Covid infection and eight previously had the virus.
One of those infected subsequently died of a bacterial infection after transplantation, but the other nine patients survived.
However, people are still required to self-isolate for at least one week in Scotland and six days in Wales.
Outside the UK, lockdown times vary from four days in Norway to 10 days in Germany.
Dr Irwin-Knester said a seven-day isolation period “should be safe” in almost all cases, but five days “provide an acceptable balance” between the contagiousness of the virus and the desire to return to normal.
Dr. Irwin-Knester is expected to speak before the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases tomorrow: “Decisions made by countries around the world to shorten the isolation period for Omicron infections are based in part on simulation data.”
And she noted that the move also takes into account “the fact that Omicron causes less severe illness, as well as fewer hospitalizations and deaths.”
She said: “It’s a way to get back to something like normal and accept the transmission of this less dangerous omicron variant.”
“Based on the available data, I’m not sure that a person can be contagious for a shorter period of time with Omicron, as they would have been with previous options.”
Dr Irwin-Knester said isolation for up to seven days “should be safe in almost all infections.”
But the five-day isolation period “provides an acceptable balance between the contagiousness of the virus and what most communities are willing to accept going forward, especially after two years of restrictions in many cases,” she added.
However, Dr. Irwin-Knoster noted that people who are still suffering from respiratory symptoms such as coughing and sneezing should continue to isolate for 10 to 14 days after seven days.
And those who are seriously ill with the virus often “shed for longer,” while immunocompromised people can transmit the virus for months.
Dr Irwin-Knester also warned that the new variant “could throw everything up in the air”, especially if it causes more serious illness or is not protected by Covid vaccines.
“If this is a new option that makes us seriously ill, I would recommend returning to longer periods of isolation – a minimum of seven days,” she added.
In England, the legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive expired on 24 February, although people are still encouraged to do so.
From this date, the requirement to wear face masks is also lifted, and free tests are canceled from April 1.