There’s a lot of information and misinformation going around about the different coronavirus variants, and it’s not easy to keep up with the latest advice and warnings about the virus. However, the key to keeping yourself and your family as safe as possible is to stay informed, without overloading on all the available information. And to do that, you need to understand what the variants are, how they impact health information, and what you need to do.
Coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, changes over time, like any other virus. Many of these changes are small and don’t really change anything important about the virus. But other changes are bigger and more important and can change:
Variants first started evolving within a few months after Covid-19 first entered the population, producing the alpha, delta, and omicron variants. The dominant variants in the world at this writing are in the omicron family. But this doesn’t mean that the current variants are identical. In fact, the different omicron variants have marked genetic differences, which is why they’re still quite difficult to predict and design therapies for.
The World Health Organization (WHO) keeps up with all these changes so that they can provide accurate health information. They’re the ones who identify when the virus changes enough to demand changes to vaccines or public health information.
Over time, the dominant coronavirus variants have changed. At the moment, experts are most concerned about the omicron subvariant BA.5, which now accounts for most Covid cases in the US. However, the variants BA.4 and BA2.12.1 are still a concern and are still circulating through the population. All of these variants are in the omicron family, which appears to cause fewer serious infections. Here are the stats on these variants as of July 2022:
These stats are a huge change. In early June, BA.4 and BA.5 were responsible for less than 10% of cases each and BA2.12.1 was leading at 62%. Experts did predict these variants would become dominant, but this occurred much faster than expected.
The quick turnover is probably due to individual strain mutations, particularly in the spike protein. Mutations in the spike protein may help the virus avoid antibodies that have been generated by vaccines or previous infections.
At this stage, BA.2.12.1 is still a concern in many countries and areas. Fortunately, this variant doesn’t seem to cause a big increase in hospitalizations or serious illnesses, though this could be different if the vaccination rates in the affected countries weren’t so high.
What is important is that the vaccination appears to be protective against this variant, which changes how it impacts affected countries and individuals.
The BA.5 variant was initially discovered in South Africa but has recently been found in US states like Texas and Florida. Both BA.5 and BA.4 seem to show up more often in areas that didn’t see much of the BA.2 variant, though the reason for this is unknown.
Even more importantly, BA.5 infection rates have recently been surging in Portugal, which has a high vaccination and booster rate. This is worrying because it suggests that this is one of the coronavirus variants that has mutated to evade vaccine protections. The race is now on in medical circles to produce and distribute a vaccine that contains specific protections against these new variants.
Most experts agree that there will be more coronavirus variants in the future. The most recent variants have been in the omicron family, a Covid variant that first appeared in South Africa in 2021 and has become the dominant variant around the world. The most recent variants are all derived from this family, which is different from the mutations that occurred at the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
Experts are now predicting that this variant will continue to dominate and don’t think that a new variant will take its place for a while. However, there will definitely be new variants in the omicron family, and nothing can stop that. But this doesn’t mean that you’re helpless.
There are definitely things that you can do to help protect yourself, your family, and your community. And taking these measures will help reduce the rate of mutations and infections. Here’s what to do:
A major overlooked condition that many people deal with is adrenal fatigue. This stress-related condition can reduce your body's ability to cope with infections and viruses.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is caused by ongoing, chronic stress that causes the overuse of the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. The NEM stress response activates during stressful periods, prompting the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands to help drive you forward during stressful times. When the cause of the stress is short in duration, cortisol changes the circuits in your body to increase your odds of surviving the stress. And when the stressor is over, cortisol levels go back to normal and so does the NEM stress response.
But when stress is ongoing and chronic, cortisol levels remain high, and the NEM stress response remains active. This causes changes in the body that become permanent and damaging. The health and functioning of the organs related to the NEM then starts to degrade, causing a range of symptoms and health problems. Some of these symptoms include more frequent colds and flu and increased difficulty healing from infections.
This can reduce your body's ability to fight any coronavirus variants that you encounter.
The NEM is organized into six circuits of related organ systems. The Inflammation Circuit is responsible for protecting your body against infection and other invaders like viruses. It consists of the immune system, the gut, and the microbiome (or the balance of bacteria in your body).
When this circuit is healthy, it works in the background to produce inflammation to expel foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses. But when you have AFS, high stress and elevated cortisol levels cause the overactivation of the immune system. This sounds like a good thing, in that could help protect your body against infections, but in reality, it can be very damaging.
The overactivation of the immune system causes rampant, chronic inflammation, which has been linked to health concerns like heart disease and cancer. Inflammation will also impact gut health, encouraging the growth of bad bacteria and gut problems.
This situation can be very dangerous in the face of the coronavirus. When your immune system is overactive, you become more prone to lingering infections that your body will struggle to clear. This may make you more likely to get infected with Covid, and it may also result in your immune system struggling to clear the infection. The resulting overall poor health may also have an impact on your chances of catching the virus, how sick you get, and the infection duration.
This is why dealing with an unbalanced Inflammation Circuit could put you at risk during a pandemic. It's also a good reason to get help with AFS recovery from a medical professional who’s aware of the condition.
There are lots of different coronavirus variants circulating at the moment, and there will be more as time goes on and the virus mutates. Keeping up with the latest advice regarding the variants can help keep yourself and your family safe. Just stay aware and follow the latest health warnings. To do this, here’s what you need to do:
If you’re concerned about how the coronavirus might interact with AFS, you can talk to our team for a free, private, initial consultation at +1 (626) 571-1234 or click here.
Coronavirus variants are mutations in the original virus that can make them more transmissible or change the therapies that need to be used to combat them. To stay healthy, you need to know about the variants in your area and the best ways to avoid them.
