The COVID-19 Omicron variant is causing a lot of apprehension in many people worldwide and how long it's taking to make a person sick is now a big question.
According to a report from The Atlantic, it definitely might appear like it given the global health crisis currently being experienced, but the form of COVID-19 was slightly a slowpoke.
After it infiltrates the body, the virus would usually brew for approximately five or six days before kicking off the symptoms.
In several months since that now-inexistent version of the SARS-CoV-2 infection emerged, new strains have taken place to fast-track the timeline up.
Omicron Infection in 3 Days
Approximations for the so-called "exposure-to-symptom" gap known as "incubation period," clocked at approximately five days for Alpha, and four for the Delta variant.
Now, according to reports, Omicron, the latest addition to the pandemic block, may have intensified it down to as soon as three days.
If the figure holds, this may appear bad news. It plays a vital role in helping COVID-19 variants transmit. In all likelihood, the shorter the incubation time, the more rapid a person becomes infectious, the faster an outbreak is spreading.
According to epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, a shortened incubation makes a virus much, much more difficult to control.
Geared Up to Duplicate Itself Faster
Already, that's what the Omicron variant appears to be. In less than one month, the new COVID-19 strain has blazed into dozens of sending rates of the case to record-breaking heights.
Moreover, if, as certain scientists suspect, this stain is geared up to duplicate itself more rapidly inside the body as it appears in many people who have at least some
immunity, leaving punishingly short time to identify the virus, disrupt antivirals, and hamper transmission.
There's a gap here. There are only a few weeks into the fight against the Omicron variant, and it is not easy to collect data on incubation periods, which might differ according to populations, or "suss out" precisely the manner the virus is tangoing with the cells. The early indications are here, though, and as Sara Zhang reported, "we know enough to act."
All of this then augments the insistence on undergoing tests that can rapidly and dependently pinpoint the Omicron variant.
Shorter Incubation Period that the Previous Variants
If it has a shorter incubation period, that will wreak havoc on how it is tested and dealt with, explained clinical microbiologist Omai Garner, from the UCLA Health System.
However, testing in the United States has remained slow, costly, and for many, inaccessible. Everyone is ill-prepared for the incoming surge of the Omicron variant not only because it is a new coronavirus version but also because it is poised to exploit one of the greatest susceptibilities in the current infection-prevention toolkit. COVID-19 infection is spreading faster and getting more difficult to control.
Since the World Health Organization designated Omicron as a "variant of concern" at the end of last month, COVID-19 appears to have popped up just about everywhere.
A CBC report said that scientists are now tracing cases of its back-to-schools, universities, weddings, bars, and child-care centers, among others. As a result, they find the new variant at office holiday parties, including an occurrence at an Oslo, Norway restaurant where roughly 80 individuals may contract or transfer Omicron.
Related information about the Omicron variant is shown on TODAY's YouTube video below:
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Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.
