OMICRON: Myths and Fallacies

La Prensa published on Thursday, January 27 a list of doubts and myths about the Omicron variant.

Omicron infection is milder
Scientific evidence indicates that Omicron has been less severe compared to Delta, but should not be considered mild.

The WHO and Panamanian scientists, such as the National Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation Eduardo Ortega Barría; the clinical researcher Xavier Sáez-Llorens, and the epidemiologist and director of the Cevaxin Research Center, Rodrigo De Antonio, agree that the Ómicron variant generates hospitalizations and death of patients, so it should not be thought of as a simple cold.

Contagion by Omicron is not like a common cold and there is a possibility that the person will require hospitalization depending on their comorbidities, age, among other factors. People infected with Omicron are being hospitalized and have died as a result of it. People who get the variant and recover are also at risk of developing persistent Covid.

Ómicron generates fewer hospitalizations
Omicron poses a high risk to the health system, as it spreads faster than Delta. And although it causes milder cases of Covid-19, and a lower percentage of patients end up in the hospital, given the high number of infections, that lower percentage means a large number of hospitalizations.

On January 21, the San Fernando Hospital Clinic announced the suspension of vaccination due to the increase in hospitalized patients with Covid-19, and the Children’s Hospital, suspended since last January 17 January outpatient surgeries, radiology appointments, due to the increase in cases.

Vaccines do not work A recent study conducted by, South Africa’s largest private insurer, found that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine provide 33% protection against infection and 70% protection against hospitalization.

The booster dose is not effective
The scientific community suggests that the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines, like that of many other vaccines, such as the flu, decreases over time, so it is important to get the booster dose.

Two studies published last week show that a third jab offers greater protection against Omicron. The first publication in the Journal Science showed that with just two doses, the sera had reduced neutralizing antibodies against Omicron by more than 22-fold. One month after the third dose of the vaccine, Omicron’s neutralizing antibodies increased by more than 23-fold compared to the two doses, and were similar to the neutralizing antibodies of the original variant from Wuhan, after the second dose.

The second study in The Lancet reiterated that a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine raises the levels of antibodies that neutralize the Omicron variant, according to laboratory results.

Unvaccinated people will not get seriously ill
Health authorities and scientists point out that the vast majority of those hospitalized are unvaccinated people.

The Covid-19 Vaccine Composition Technical Advisory Group notes that while the first generation of vaccines developed does not stop all infections and transmissions, it is very effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths.

If I have already had Covid-19, I have immunity
If you have had Covid-19 before, you should still be vaccinated, as reinfection by omicron is still possible, with the risk of becoming seriously ill, transmitting the virus to other people, or developing persistent Covid.

Omicron transmits faster
In December 2021, the WHO reported that Omicron spread significantly faster than the Delta variant and noted that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 are more likely to be infected or reinfected with the variant. Sáez-Llorens estimated that the Ómicron variant is at least three times more contagious than the Delta, which brings the transmission closer to that known for the measles virus.

Masks are useless against Omicron
Panamanian scientists, authorities, and organizations like the United States Centers for Disease Control agree that all preventive measures that work against the Delta variant continue to be effective against Omicron, and this includes the use of masks.