The Omicron variant could spark a ‘pandemic 2.0’ if the world stays in denial about its threat, a top US scientist has warned.
Dr Eric Feigl-Ding said attitudes towards the new variant are too ‘blasé and laid back’ despite its ‘frankenstein mix of mutations’ making it the most transmissible yet.
Speaking on podcast platform Conversation Six he said: ‘I have this sinking feeling that we’re in the denial phase of a pandemic 2.0…
‘Where people, kind of like early January through mid march 2020, refused to believe we would have a new virus or any virus at that time that could spread and cause a pandemic around the world
‘And I think that’s what the #Omicron is, it’s a 2.0 pandemic virus, potentially.
‘It’s so much more transmissible than anything we had before.’
Dr Feigl-Ding, a senior fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, went on to say that there was ‘a lot of misinformation on the severity’ of Omicron.
Although more transmissible that previous strains, it is thought to cause less severe illness than Delta.
But Dr Feigl-Ding said it could still cause ‘an enormous amount of havoc’.
He said: ‘Delta was much more severe than the original Wuhan strain, so even if its not as severe as Delta it can still cause an enormous amount of havoc if its ‘mild’ like the Wuhan strain.’
When Omicron first emerged earlier this month, scientists warned it may evade the vaccines.
Pharmaceutical companies are now racing against time to adapt the current crop of jabs so it can tackle the new strain.
Dr. Hoge, president of Moderna, previously told the New York Times: ‘This thing is a Frankenstein mix of all of the greatest hits.
‘It just triggered every one of our alarm bells.’
He said Moderna could update its current vaccine in about two months and have clinical results in about three months if necessary.
It is also testing whether booster shots will bolster the immune system enough to fend off the new variant.
Boosters of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have already been shown to raise antibody levels significantly against other strains.
New data from Pfizer suggests two jabs do work to prevent serious illness from Omicron, but getting a booster ‘turbocharges immunity’ and is what is needed to successfully beat the variant.
The company noted that the results were preliminary and said it would continue to collect data and ‘evaluate real-world effectiveness’.
But Albert Bourla, Chief Executive Officer of the drug company, struck an optimistic tone about the results.
He said: ‘Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine.
‘Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.’
The UK Government has accelerated its booster roll-out, offering third jabs to all over 18s three months after their second shot, rather than six.
Boris Johnson has also implemented Covid ‘Plan B’, meaning a return to work from guidance, face masks in most indoor settings and vaccine passports for large events.
However, some scientists think this line of defence won’t be enough, with some calling for stricter measures such as vaccine passports everywhere.
There a reports the prime minister could go one step further with ‘Plan C’, which would mean mandatory face masks in all indoor venues including schools and pubs, and check-ins on the NHS Covid app.
Plan C could also mean a return to the 10-day isolation period for close contacts of Covid, and vaccine passports required in smaller venues.
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