Let’s explore recent research findings suggesting that the Omicron variant remains on the skin, paper, and plastics for longer than historical strains of the virus.

First, a caveat: The two research studies we will discuss Omicron examine virus staying power on surfaces, but under artificial circumstances.

Omicron and surfaces

Some preprints provide some guidance but remember that they have been posted online before a review by outside experts and publication.

Japanese researchers took viruses from each significant COVID-19 variant in the first study. After concentrating and purifying the samples, they spread the viruses on squares of plastic and human cadaver skin. The scientists kept the samples in warm air (approximately 77 degrees F).

Here are the results of the Japanese study:

• On plastic, the original Wuhan strain lived for about 56 hours.
• Most of the other variants tested (Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron) survived more than three times as long. Omicron could be detected eight days after application.
• The more recent variants lasted more than twice as long as the original Wuhan strain on the skin. Researchers detected the Omicron variant after 21 hours, compared with eight hours for the Wuhan variant.

The second study

Hong Kong researchers spread samples of the original strain of the COVID-19 virus and the Omicron variant on squares of glass, paper, plastic, and stainless steel. Let’s look at the results:

The original virus survived two days on plastic and stainless steel and approximately four days on glass. The Omicron variant survived about seven days on those surfaces and survived longer on printer paper and tissue.

Omicron and surfaces — Should you be worried?

The primary mode of Omicron transmission is close contact and aerosol. Professor of Public Health Dr. Leo Poon of Hong Kong University reminds us:

“Omicron is still mainly transmitted by close contact and aerosol. We want to highlight that we should also pay attention to hand hygiene and disinfection of contaminated surfaces.”

I will continue to focus my cleaning (or avoidance) on places frequently touched by others, including door handles, elevator buttons, and handrails. The authors note that the team studied Omicron BA.1 and not the newer BA.2.

Are these studies perfect? No, they did not occur in real-life conditions. Viruses outside the lab don’t get to lounge in warm room air. Still, Omicron appears hardier than earlier COVID-19 viruses.

Fortunately, you can break the transfer of virus from surfaces into your nose or mouth. You know what you need to do: Wash your hands.

The post COVID Omicron — Is Hand Washing Still Needed? appeared first on Medika Life.

1. We cannot vaccinate the entire planet quickly enough. Some 30 countries have yet to administer their first vaccine. Continued outbreaks in these areas allow opportunity and time for the virus to mutate.
2. Vaccines are going to have to be fine-tuned and re-administered at some point to address new variants, effectively meaning we have to start all over again.

Clearly, vaccines on their own aren’t going to rid us of Covid and the coronavirus. Our approach needs to be multi-faceted and an Israeli company, SaNOtize, may just have brought a winning hand to the table. They have developed a product, pre-pandemic, designed to reduce the impact of influenza and other viruses, a broad-scale antiviral that would do for the body what hand sanitizers do for the hands. Kill off the virus.

It’s the ideal treatment, destroying the virus before it gains a foothold, where other medications and treatments focus on countering the effects of the virus once it has entered our body and begins infecting our cells. This product focuses on killing it before it can pose a threat, and to achieve this, SaNOtize created a nasal spray.

SaNOtize Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS)

We first came across the spray in an article from the Royal Holloway, University of London website, published in early January of this year, entitled “New nasal spray proven to kill 99.9% of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is being trialed in the UK”. The intriguing subtitle suggests;

An academic from Royal Holloway is playing an instrumental part in the first UK clinical trials of a nasal spray proven to kill 99.9% of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

The article continues to explain the process of the innovative product, with the trial to take place at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in Surrey.

The SaNOtize Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) is designed to kill the virus in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs and Professor Pankaj Sharma, from the Department of Biological Sciences is playing his part as the director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research at Royal Holloway.

The treatment, developed by SaNOtize Research and Development Corp. based in Vancouver, Canada, proved 99.9% effective in killing the coronavirus in independent lab tests at Utah State University’s Antiviral Research Institute. The SaNOtize treatment is based on nitric oxide, a natural nanomolecule produced by the human body with proven anti-microbial properties shown to have a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The treatment can be delivered by nasal spray, throat gargle or nasal lavage.

The importance of nitric oxide within the human body and its healing properties was first discovered by Professor Ferid Murad of Stanford University, among others, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998. Prof Murad is a member of the board of SaNOtize. The strategy is to use the Nitric Oxide spray as a multi-stage defense against infection and to provide an effective treatment for mild and moderate cases with the goal of preventing severe inflammatory response and infection of the lungs.

Scientists believe the coronavirus is transmitted via airborne droplets to the mucous membranes in the nose, where it is replicated during a three-day incubation period, damaging the nasal mucosa cells, and is then carried in nasal secretions to the lower respiratory tract, leading to the danger of fatal viral pneumonia.

Branded as Enovid, production commences

An update was recently announced on the Times of Israel website. indicting the Israeli company SaNOtize has begun commercial production of the product, now labeled as Enovid. The Israeli Health Ministry-approved labeling says the antiviral is effective within 2 minutes and its inventor says the product can save many lives in countries without access to vaccines. Dr. Gilly Regev, the inventor, told The Times of Israel,

“We are hoping that our nasal spray will now save many lives of people in countries that are waiting for the vaccine,” said Regev, an Israeli-raised biochemist who co-founded the company SaNOtize and developed the spray in Canada. “This will be affordable and can be used for prevention, to protect from any respiratory viral infection.”

She continued to explain that it has been shown to be effective in the lab against a wide range of viruses, and said that new variants of the coronavirus won’t interfere with its effectiveness, emphasizing: 

“It contains a broad spectrum antiviral which kills all viruses and all variants.”

Israel will become the first country where the spray is sold. The Health Ministry has given interim approval for its sale as a medical device suitable for people age 12 and up — meaning it could be used by many who aren’t yet approved for coronavirus vaccines — with packaging stating: “Scientifically tested to kill 99.9% of viruses within 2 minutes.”. It has also been approved for sale in New Zealand, and approval is being sought in other countries, including the UK. Regev said that the factory, in Ness Ziona near Tel Aviv, is working to produce a stock of 200,000 to 500,000 bottles by May. 

The claim on the packaging is based on testing in labs, during which a range of live viruses, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2, were subjected to the spray. She acknowledged that the experiments took place outside the human body, in test tubes, and do not provide definitive proof of how effective the spray will prove in nasal passages — though she said they are very encouraging.

What about the suggestion that the spray can lessen the impact of COVID-19 among those who are infected? In early March, SaNOtize and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, UK, announced results of the clinical trials we referred to earlier in the article. The results indicated that the spray could prevent the transmission of COVID-19, shorten its course, and reduce the severity of symptoms and damage in those already infected. The study has been submitted to a leading medical journal for review and publication.

When will Enovid be available OTC?

Not soon enough, if the product lives up to its promise, and research and data suggest it will. It will be a massively welcome addition to our covid arsenal to do battle with the virus. Its method of action could also mean huge reductions in hospitalization if it proves effective.

Each bottle of Enovid contains a month’s supply for one person to spray twice a day for protection, which is suggested as adequate protection to kill any potential invading virus. The fact the product kills a broad range of viruses also offers protection against influenza and any potential variants that will develop over time. We’re excited to see this product on pharmacy shelves across the US and hopefully, the FDA will assess Enovid with the same vigor that was applied to the vaccines.

You can visit the SaNOtize website for detailed information on the product.

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