China's current COVID-19 policy is still effective in fending off the new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus, known as Omicron, said the National Health Commission (NHC), noting that the country has established a special nucleic acid method targeting the new variant, and it is monitoring the genetic sequencing of possible imported virus cases.
The NHC said that the new variant does not affect the sensitivity of the country's mainstream nucleic acid testing kits. It said that the Omicron variant has more spike protein mutations, but the spike protein is not included in China's published nucleic testing kit sector.
Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, said that normally a nucleic acid testing kit won't cover mutations, as it will affect the test's sensitivity. As Chinese mainstream testing kits are not targeted at spike protein mutations, the new variant has no impact on the nation's current testing kits.
In face of the unknown danger of Omicron, Chinese pharmaceutical companies are ramping up efforts to detect the virus and tweak current vaccines.
Some Chinese bio-tech companies said their nucleic acid testing kits are upgraded and they are able to detect all prevailing variants, be it Delta, Gamma, Beta or Omicron.
The health authority said that the variant was first identified in South Africa, but that does not mean it evolved or originated from there. It noted that more information is needed to estimate the variant's transmissibility, the severity of disease and whether it can evade the immune system built by current vaccines.
In a technical brief on the newest "variant of concern", the World Health Organization cautioned on Monday that assessments so far were based on limited information, but said the overall global risk related to the highly mutated variant was "very high."
现有疫苗、核酸检测对奥密克戎有效吗?
11月29日针对新冠病毒奥密克戎变异株, 国家卫生健康委组织中国疾控中心专家就有关问题进行了解答:
1. 奥密克戎变异株的发现和流行情况
2021年11月9日,南非首次从病例样本中检测到一种新冠病毒B.1.1.529变异株。短短2周时间,该变异株即成为南非豪登省新冠感染病例的绝对优势变异株,增长迅猛。11月26日,WHO将其定义为第五种“关切变异株”(variant of concern, VOC),取名希腊字母Omicron(奥密克戎)变异株。