If you only have a few seconds, read these lines
- A message circulates on Facebook indicating that the Ministry of Health reported that there is a new strain of coronavirus that is more contagious and difficult to detect.
- However, this is false. The health portfolio did not issue a publication in this regard.
- Subvariants of Omicron are currently circulating in the country – not a new strain – and the scientific evidence available to date indicates that they are not more contagious or more difficult to detect.
A message circulates on Facebook stating: “They have already published from the Ministry of Health. Please in public transport and closed places we have to wear a mask! Again….new strain…contagious and goes to the lungs. It does not go to the nasopharynx, which is why the swab is negative. It is also diagnosed with RX plate Take care of us all!!! Thank you and if you can forward it” (sic). However, this is false.
The health portfolio did not issue a publication in this regard. Subvariants of Omicron are currently circulating in the country – not a new strain – and the scientific evidence available to date indicates that they are not more contagious or more difficult to detect.
Las Facebook posts They were shared more than 10,000 times, according to data provided by the social network itself.
No new strain was registered
From the Ministry of Health, last December 5, reported a rise in COVID-19 cases from 12,609 diagnosed cases, a number almost 4 times higher than last week. The increase in cases was registered in 23 of the 24 jurisdictions of the country and 89% of them, in the City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and the province of Buenos Aires.
“This increase in cases occurs in the context of the circulation of other respiratory viruses. The current levels of cases are far from resembling those experienced at the peak of the pandemic, at which time there were much higher values. At the moment these numbers do not put the response capacity of the health system at risk,” he clarified.
However, the health portfolio did not make any publication warning regarding the circulation of a new strain. As explained by Checked in a previous notethe Ministry of Health of the Nation maintained that the messages that speak of a “new COVID-Omicron XBB variant” are false.
The sub-variant that has been referred to in various pieces of misinformation in recent weeks is the XBB. Which technically is a recombination of the BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants of Ómicron, as detailed in the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO Technical Advisory Group on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 (TAG-VE) indicated that recorded “a large increase in the prevalence of XBB in regional genomic surveillance, but it has not yet been consistently associated with an increase in new infections.”
The scientific evidence available to date indicates that the XBB sublineage is not particularly riskier or more difficult to diagnose, nor does it change the symptoms experienced with COVID-19. The characteristics of the virus remain within those identified as Ómicron and do not differ from other circulating subvariants.
“In Argentina, the current situation of SARS-CoV-2 variants is characterized by a exclusive circulation of the Omicron variant. In relation to the Ómicron lineages, at the end of September the proportion of BA.4, BA.5 and Ómicron compatible with BA.4/BA.5 was 35.37%, 39.02% and 10.98%, while BA.2 stands at 7.32%. Additionally, in October 1 case of Ómicron BQ.1.1 and 1 case of Ómicron XBB.116 were registered”detailed the last Epidemiological Bulletin.
What are the recommendations
The Minister of Health of the Nation, Carla Vizzotti, published through his official Twitter account a series of recommendations given the increase in cases of COVID-19: “Our recommendation in this context is to reinforce vaccination and usual care.”
In addition, he added that “for now the increase in cases has not translated into a significant increase in hospitalizations or deaths. This is because the protection provided by vaccines is very strong.”
Finally, he added that “those who were last vaccinated more than 4 months ago can get a new dose. The reinforcement (be it the first, the second or the third) It is especially important for those over 50 and for people with risk conditions” and that it is advisable to resume some care such as cross ventilation of environments, the use of a mask in closed spaces and frequent hand washing.
However, he dismissed the possibility of announcing restrictions: “The current situation is incomparable with the one we lived in when there were still no vaccines and we were all susceptible.”
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