Double vaccination and infection – details known about Omicron outbreak in Oslo restaurant – News


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A new study from Oslo shows how contagious the new Corona variant Omikron can be.

It all began with a company party on November 26th in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. At the invitation of the solar energy manufacturer Scatec, 117 people met in the Louise restaurant to celebrate Christmas early. Among them was a person who had previously returned from South Africa and in whom the Omicron variant had first been detected.

Vaccinated and tested

«All had been vaccinated. None of them showed symptoms and they all had a self-test before they ate, “Tine Ravlo, head of the city’s health department, told AFP. She emphasized: “Everything was carried out properly and none of the rules were violated.”

After the outbreak was discovered on November 30, all attendees at the party were asked by the community doctor in Oslo to quarantine themselves at home for 10 days and take a PCR test immediately. Those who tested positive were required to remain in isolation for at least 7 days.

After evaluating the tests, it is now clear: At the end of the celebration, at least 66 people were infected with the Omikron variant, while the variant is still unclear for 15 other people who tested positive. The other participants had not received a positive PCR result by December 13th.

Study sheds light on the darkness

Meanwhile, a new cohort study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is revealing new details and showing what could be expected of the world with Omikron in the coming weeks and months.

On average, the guests were last vaccinated 79 days ago. None of the participants had received a booster vaccination. 96 percent of those surveyed were fully vaccinated, while 98 percent of those vaccinated had received two doses of an MRNA vaccine. The average age of the respondents was 38 years. The infections show that Omikron had an overall infestation rate of 74 percent at the Oslo Christmas party.

Assuming exposure occurred at the party, the incubation period for symptomatic cases ranged from 0 to 8 days with a median of 3 days, which is significantly shorter when compared to earlier figures for Delta and previously circulating variants.

So far, none of the cases has had to be taken to hospital. Although practically all participants were vaccinated, the infection was symptomatic in 91 percent. The most common symptoms were cough (83%), followed by runny / stuffy nose (78%), fatigue / lethargy (74%), sore throat (72%), headache (68%) and fever (54%).

When asked about symptom severity on a scale of 1 (no symptoms) to 5 (significant symptoms), 42 percent reported level 3 symptoms, while 11 percent reported level 4 symptoms.

“Highly Transferable”

The researchers also found that almost 70 other guests who were also in the restaurant were infected. The omicron variant was detected in 53 of the cases.

The researchers’ conclusion: “The preliminary results of our outbreak investigation suggest that Omikron is highly transmissible among fully vaccinated young and middle-aged adults.”

However, given the specific context of the outbreak in an environment with a high risk of transmission, the results should be interpreted with caution. The investigation will continue to determine the full spectrum of the disease and its duration, the risk factors for the infection, and the extent of secondary transmission.


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