The behavior of the new variant of the coronavirus, Ômicron, is still under analysis by researchers around the world, despite initial analyzes pointing to a greater capacity for the new strain to spread.
In Brazil, which still does not register any case of Ômicron, the initial expectation is that there is a scenario similar to the Delta variant: it was identified as responsible for a wave of Covid-19 in Europe, but it did not come to prevail in the national territory.
The analysis is by Sandra Coccuzzo, director of the Scientific Development Center of the Butantan Institute, and was carried out in an interview with CNN this Tuesday (30). “We expect a situation similar to Delta: even if it is established, we can respond immunologically in a different way”, said the biomedical doctor.
According to Coccuzzo, when Delta arrived in Brazil, the country was between the application of the 1st and 2nd dose of vaccines more widely. The data analyzed show a different behavior from what was evaluated abroad.
“Very clearly, what we noticed at that time is that, as the population was being vaccinated, the establishment of Delta did not lead to an increase in hospitalizations, deaths or even in the severity of the case”, he said.
The same would have happened previously with the Beta variant, first identified in South Africa in December 2020.
For Coccuzzo, it is necessary to gather enough material to “investigate whether the plasma of vaccinated people is capable of neutralizing this variant”, he said, and also to carry out an analysis in the scenario of greater vaccination in Brazil than in comparison with southern African countries .
“It is always important to ask what this variant means abroad – we are talking about a country unfortunately with very poor vaccination – compared to the state of São Paulo, which has a very large number of vaccinated people”.
“We will monitor and investigate in vitro so that we can say what our vaccination means against the new strain”, said Coccuzzo.
Asked about the speed of testing available vaccines to check their response to infections caused by Ômicron, the director said that, after the entire pandemic period, there is a condition to carry out such analyzes more quickly.
“We would be ready to, in the [tempo] as soon as possible, think about the reformulation. [das vacinas]”, he said.
Sandra Coccuzzo also stated that the development of the Butanvac vaccine, a Brazilian immunizing agent authored by the Butantan Institute, is within the schedules set by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and that, if the Ômicron variant proves capable of “taking care of the scenario” , it will also be included in Butanvac’s list of tests.
“Will the new strain manage to establish itself or are we going to find some cases and it won’t happen anymore?
Our trigger for testing new strains is based on the premise of the behavior of new strains. If it calls our attention, [a Ômicron] enters into this framework of tests, without a doubt”, he stated.
Reference: CNN Brasil
