Delta and Omicron could combine as super disease
MODERNA’S head doctor has warned against dismissing the danger posed by the new Covid-19 variant, insisting Omicron is “a severe disease” that could work alongside Delta to infect people with both strains at once.
The comments by Moderna chief health officer Paul Burton to a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday echo earlier warnings by Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly.
Dr Burton said he disagreed with the widespread belief that Omicron produced less harmful
symptoms than other variants of Covid.
“As a disease, it’s a fit virus, and it’s very severe,” he said. “We certainly don’t have to panic … but I think Omicron poses a real threat.”
Dr Burton also warned that if Omicron and Delta were to coexist for an extended time, people could become infected with both strains of the virus simultaneously.
“There’s certainly data, there have been some papers published again from South Africa earlier from the pandemic when people – and certainly immunocompromised people – can harbour both viruses,” he said.
“That would be possible here (in Europe), particularly given the number of infections that we were seeing.”
When asked if these dual infections could lead to the formation of a more dangerous variant, Dr Burton said: “It certainly could be. It certainly gives an opportunity for the two viruses to combinate, to share genes and swap genes over.
“There are 50, 60, 70 thousand cases of Delta a day in some European countries, including the UK. To bring Omicron into that background of Covid is concerning.”
Dr Burton’s grave warnings were reflected in the more uneasy tone of Australia’s chief health officer when discussing the new variant in recent days.
Professor Kelly had originally emphasised the “mild” symptoms of Omicron, insisting there was no solid reason to believe the current Covid vaccines were less effective against it. But last Thursday, he changed his tone as he warned Australians not to underestimate the strain.
“We’re concerned about Omicron because it is a very different looking virus from its genetic makeup,” Professor Kelly said. “Some of the mutations in that virus are suggestive that it may be more transmissible or that it could actually avoid some of the immune system that we have to protect ourselves against that virus.”
Moderna is currently conducting research on the level of protection its vaccine offers against Omicron.
The vaccine manufacturer is expected to know by the end of the week whether mRNA jabs are less effective against the new variant. But Dr Burton said Moderna would need until at least March 2022 to start distributing a vaccine that specifically targeted Omicron.
“If Omicron continues to surge in March and April, it may be possible that we could have small amounts of available vaccine that’s (Omicron) specific by then,” he said. “But otherwise it may be later in the first half of the year.”