NASSAU, BAHAMAS — New coronavirus variants, some of which could be more contagious and deadlier, will continue to emerge until the global population is fully vaccinated, according to scientists.
When contacted, Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme Dr Nikkiah Forbes said: “When COVID is spreading anywhere out of control, the virus can mutate into a resistant strain.
“Some of these resistant strains won’t do anything, but some of them will be concerning because some of these mutations will allow them to either be more infectious or if they [resist] therapeutics medications like monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, and some of them will make people a lot sicker and be more contagious.
“And so, once there is COVID problem spreading anywhere these variants can emerge and they’re easily transmitted to person to person, including through travel.
“That is what we’re looking at until we can get a hold of the COVID situation everywhere.”
The omicron variant of the virus is the latest of concern, becoming the predominant strain in numerous jurisdictions, escalating infections at an alarming rate, and threatening healthcare systems across the globe as countries grapple with measures to mitigate cases.
But despite the astronomic rise in cases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Rochelle Walkensky said yesterday that cases could fall just as fast.
“I do think in places that we are seeing this really steep incline, that we may well see also a precipitous decline,” Walensky said during the briefing.
South Africa, which first reported the omicron strain, has passed its surge.
In The United States, The Bahamas and other countries in the region, cases continue to surge in what has been described as the fourth wave.
Asked about the timeline of the omicron variants impact on The Bahamas, Forbes said it was difficult to provide as there are numerous factors to consider in that equation.
She said, however, studying and monitoring of COVID strains with many countries collecting a percentage of samples to look at other variants.
She also said health experts monitor patterns in the epidemiology of cases, with sharp increases in cases being an indicator of a potential variant or new variant.
“And so, work is being done to monitor the situation,” Forbes said.
Asked whether there is a trend of variants becoming more resistant to medications and the efficacy of existing COVID-19 vaccines, Forbes said: “Well, viruses do mutate. All viruses do that and essentially a mistake is made when they’re replicating.
“Now, sometimes that does not result in any clinically more significant disease or medications not working or more infectivity. It may be a variant, but just a variant, not necessarily a variant of concern. For it to be a variant of concern, it either has to be more infectious, it can evade vaccines and medications or it can make people sicker.”
Hospitalizations have increased in The Bahamas from around 14 last month to 83.
The Bahamas recorded another 388 cases on Thursday.
