Omicron Shows Different Symptoms from Delta... "Complaints of Extreme Fatigue"

On the 28th, to prevent the domestic influx of the COVID-19 variant 'Omicron' spreading across South Africa, the government banned entry from eight African countries. This is a view of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Amid growing fears about the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron,' there are also opinions that this variant is not more dangerous than the Delta variant.

On the 27th (local time), the British daily newspaper The Telegraph reported an interview with Dr. Angelique Coetzee from South Africa, who first alerted health authorities about the new variant. Dr. Coetzee, who serves as the president of the South African Medical Association, stated in the interview that the symptoms of Omicron are "unusual but mild."

Earlier this month, while treating patients in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, Dr. Coetzee noticed unexplained new COVID-19 symptoms and reported the possibility of a new variant to the authorities. After a family of four showing signs of exhaustion tested positive for COVID-19, she informed the South African Vaccine Advisory Committee on the 18th.

Dr. Coetzee said, "Among the patients, there were young people complaining of extreme fatigue and a 6-year-old child with a very high pulse," but added, "These symptoms were very different from what I had treated before and were very mild." She also mentioned that a total of 24 patients tested positive for COVID-19, and half of them were unvaccinated.

Furthermore, Dr. Coetzee warned that although the patients she saw were all healthy, the Omicron variant could cause significant harm to elderly people with underlying conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. She stated, "What we should worry about is when unvaccinated elderly people get infected with the new variant."

Currently, in the UK, there are also opinions that efforts should focus on dealing with the Delta variant rather than Omicron. Dr. Chris Whitty, the UK government's Chief Medical Officer, expressed this view while participating as a panelist in a discussion hosted by the UK Local Government Association the day before. He explained, "Between now and Christmas, the biggest concern is the Delta variant," and added, "The biggest worry now is whether we can keep persuading people to accept stronger (quarantine) measures due to the new variant."

Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stated in a risk assessment report on the 26th that "there is considerable uncertainty regarding the characteristics of the Omicron variant, such as transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness, and risk of reinfection," but also noted, "Considering the potentially high transmissibility and immune evasion, including vaccine escape, of Omicron, the likelihood of further introduction and community spread within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) is assessed as high."