Preliminary but concerning reports on omicron in S

Preliminary but concerning reports on omicron in South Africa. I have yet to more reports on this its virulence, but immune evasion appears significant.

Omicron covid variant three times more likely to cause reinfection than delta, S. Africa study says

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Scientists in South Africa say omicron is at least three times more likely to cause reinfection than previous variants such as beta and delta, according to a preliminary study published Thursday.
Statistical analysis of some 2.8 million positive coronavirus samples in South Africa, 35,670 of which were suspected to be reinfections, led researchers to conclude that the omicron mutation has a “substantial ability to evade immunity from prior infection.”

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Vaccination rates in South Africa are low, so the impact to the vaccinated populations here is uncertain.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/...s-omicron/

Coronavirus cases in South Africa nearly triple in three days as fears over omicron grow

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New daily confirmed cases rose to 11,535 on Thursday from 8,561 on Wednesday and 4,373 the previous day, according to official statistics. The cases represent a 22.4 percent positivity rate of people tested for the virus, up from 16.5 percent on Wednesday, a massive jump from a 1 percent positivity rate in early November, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/...s-omicron/