Abstract
From Editor’s Desk…

The new year begins with the threat of a new coronavirus variant, according to health experts. A new chapter in the COVID mutation issue has begun in China. The potential of new mutations that could prove to be more contagious or fatal than the currently dominant omicron strain is being considered by specialists as the number of COVID infections in China has skyrocketed since the country loosened its preventative and control procedures.

About 250 million individuals in China may have caught COVID-19 in the first days of December, according to an estimate from China’s health officials, as reported by Bloomberg and the Financial Times. A severe omicron pandemic is expected to break out in the next few months, according to a model developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The model predicts that by March 1, 2023, if strict safeguards are not reinstated, the expected number of new infections every day might reach 4.6 million.

Peter Hotez, head of Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine in Houston, agrees that the sudden increase in cases in China is likely to lead to the appearance of novel mutations. The vaccine’s efficacy is another crucial factor to consider. New research shows that Chinese vaccinations like Sinovac only prevent 61 percent of deaths and 55 percent of hospitalizations, while vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer are 90 percent effective against both.

Taking into account all of the evidence, it is possible that we may experience another phase of the breakout in the not too distant future.

Dr. Khaid Mohammed Alabdulwahhab
Editor in Chief