Omicron, the newest and most mutated strain of the New Coronavirus to date, has spread in South Africa and spread by international routes to multiple countries, raising global concern. According to the World Health Organization's "Omicron Update" released on Nov. 28, the Omicron strain has several mutations that could have an impact on its ability to spread and the extent of its pathogenicity.

Previously, on November 26, WHO named the new crown mutant strain B.1.1.529 as Omicron and listed it as a variant of concern. But information is limited, and WHO and partners, researchers in South Africa and around the world, and others, are studying Omicron to clarify the strain's infectiousness, pathogenicity, and impact on the effectiveness of existing New Crown vaccines and means of detecting infection. WHO said it may take a few more days or weeks to get exact information on Omicron.

In this regard, reference news cited foreign media reports that the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Fauci told U.S. President Joe Biden on 28 local time that it would take about two weeks to grasp the infectiousness and other characteristics of the mutated strain of New Crown pneumonia "Omicron". The White House said in a statement that Fauci told Biden that "he continues to believe that the existing vaccine may provide some level of protection for severe cases of New Crown pneumonia," according to the report.

It is unclear whether infection with omicron causes more severe disease than infection with other New Coronavirus variants, including delta. Preliminary data suggest that hospitalization rates in South Africa are increasing, but this may be due to an increase in the total number of infections rather than to the greater susceptibility of Omicron to cause severe illness. Symptoms are currently mild in those infected, but WHO notes that all variants of the new coronavirus, including the highly infectious delta, can cause serious illness or death, especially in vulnerable populations with poor immunity. It will therefore take a few days to weeks to clarify the severity of the disease caused by the Omicron variant, but until then, prevention is always key.

The Omicron variant has raised concerns about vaccine resistance. WHO is working with technical partners to understand the potential impact of the new variant on existing therapeutic responses, including vaccines. Major vaccine manufacturers are also testing the effectiveness of higher dose booster shots and developing vaccines against omicron.

PCR tests are still widely used to test patients for omicron infection, and researchers are also trying to determine if this variant has any impact on other types of tests, including rapid antigen detection tests such as nasal or nasopharyngeal swab samples or deep throat saliva samples.

As far as treatment is concerned, corticosteroids and interleukin-6 receptor blockers remain effective in treating patients with severe neocon. However, given the uncertainty associated with the omicron variant, researchers will continue to follow up to evaluate other treatments to determine the effectiveness of their therapy.

The WHO notes that vaccines remain critical to reducing the risk of severe disease and death, and that regions need to focus on lagging vaccination and ensure adequate vaccine supplies.

In addition, countries should implement scientific and effective public health measures based on local conditions to reduce the spread of new coronaviruses. On the personal side, maintaining appropriate social distance and wearing masks remain effective in preventing viral infections as well as strengthening daily protection and home medical primary care. For example, it is important to have some medical equipment at home to help place COVID, such as a portable Oxygen Concentrator, a home Finger-clip Pulse Oximeter, a household Medical Atomizer Nebulizer and etc for temporary first aid in case of possible COVID-19 infection.

In light of the current global outbreak and spread of the COVID variant-Omicron, HICO Medical Co., Ltd has decided to accelerate the integration and restructuring of the related production of Rehabilitation Therapy Supplies lines to ensure the production and inventory of oxygen concentrators, Atomizer Nebulizer and Pulse Oximeter, while maintaining high quality to ensure market demand