RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The 68-year-old man died in the state of Goiás as a result of the Omicron variant: although he had received three doses, he was unable to beat the disease due to his concomitant illnesses.
On Wednesday, Brazil reported the first death in the country from the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which is spreading worldwide and constantly setting new records for daily infections in dozens of countries.
The 68-year-old man had taken the full two-dose regimen plus a third booster dose, but was unable to beat the disease.
The deceased lived in the state of Goiás, in the center of the country, specifically in the municipality of Aparecida de Goiânia. There, 93.5% of cases already correspond to the Omicron variant.
Based on previous reports from other Latin American countries, this man appears to be the first reported death from Omicron on the entire continent, although this is not certain because, without genomic sequencing, the variant causing the infection is not known in all cases.
OMICRON
The Omicron variant is contagious but mild to very mild in its course.
Studies from Denmark, Germany, and other countries show that over 80% of Omicron infections occur among the vaccinated.
Recent data indicate that the epidemiological relevance of Covid-19 vaccinated individuals is increasing, writes the Lancet.
Despite this set of data, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall is preparing a restraint to prevent people who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 from taking part in all of the city’s events. The requirement is being prepared to broadly come into force in Carnaval.
The City Hall’s plan A is to promote a “Carnaval for the vaccinated.”
To this end, the vaccine passport will be required both for street blocks – which should become “enclosed celebrations” – and for parades at the Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome.