The Omicron variant is gradually supplanting the Delta variant.
More contagious, the variant Omicron is at the heart of the concerns of the 5th wave of coronavirus. Although it appears to be less virulent than the Delta variant (data suggests that it mostly causes symptoms less severe), its greater transmissibility poses a statistical risk: if more people are infected, then a greater risk of being hospitalized with severe symptoms.
This variant is in the process of supplanting the supplanting the variant Delta.
Omicron variant exceeds 80%
At the start of 2022, the proportion of contamination caused by the Omicron variant was estimated at around 79%. For several days, number tracking was paused as data was no longer accessible, such as alerted Guillaume Rozier, the creator of CovidTracker. But since January 7, these data are again accessible on the Public Health France website.
As of January 10, 2022, the proportion of infections with the Omicron variant represents nearly 86% in France. This means that this strain is very largely in the majority, and that it is on the way to almost completely supplant, within a few weeks, the Delta variant.
The pause in monitoring is due to a methodological change in so-called “screening” tests, a phase which consists in identifying with which variant the person tested is infected. Henceforth, the 69/70 deletion and the substitutions K417N, S371L-S373P and Q493R are sought because they are specific to the Omicron variant.
« The new, more specific screening strategy, currently being deployed, will allow the Omicron variant to be suspected more precisely », Explains Public Health France. New mutations identified could be inserted over time, again changing the screening process.
