Professor of Molecular Genetics and Virology at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Christine Carrington has warned that it’s only a matter of time before the new Omicron Covid variant gets here.
Speaking during Saturday’s Ministry of Health media briefing, she said: “Omicron has not been detected in Trinidad and Tobago, but like all the other variants, I think, it’s not a matter of if it gets here, it’s a matter of when it will get here.”
She added: “There is preliminary evidence that omicron is more easily spread than other variants of concern. There is preliminary evidence that it is more likely to cause reinfection, suggesting that it is less sensitive to infection induced immunity. And, it contains mutations that may cause it to be less sensitive to vaccine induced immunity. All of these things have to be further investigated.”
TT has placed travel restrictions on eight south African nations due to its cases of the variant: Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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