Omicron update: Latest variant tests to see if the planet has learned a #@$%ing thing in two years
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Earlier this week, scientists in South Africa and Botswana identified a small cluster of cases involving a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The high number of mutations on this variant, now officially labeled as “omicron,” generated immediate conOmicron update: Latest variant tests to see if the planet has learned a #@$%ing thing in two years
Earlier this week, scientists in South Africa and Botswana identified a small cluster of cases involving a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The high number of mutations on this variant, now officially labeled as “omicron,” generated immediate concern—especially as several of the changes involve the critical spike protein. That protein is a key part of how the virus attaches to cells in the body, and the target of both vaccines and manufactured monoclonal antibody treatments. So changes in that area could affect the virus’ rate of transmission, as well as making it more evasive to prevention and treatment. Early statistics in one region of South Africa have given preliminary indications that the rate of transmission may be very high; possibly higher than that of the delta variant, which currently makes up 99.9% of cases in the United States. It’s not clear that the variant actually appeared first in the region where it has been detected. South Africa has one of the world’s best systems of sampling and analysis—one that has experience in dealing with other epidemics, including HIV—meaning that it very quickly picks up on the presence of new variants. The cluster of cases in Gauteng, the nation’s smallest province, may represent the first such outbreak of omicron. Or not. In any case, nations around the world, including the U.S., have reacted to the news of the new variant with travel bans that stretch across the nations of southern Africa. That response will hopefully help slow the movement of this new variant, but shouldn’t be mistaken for anything like putting a lid over the problem. As of Saturday morning, likely cases connected to omicron have been identified in Hong Kong, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Overnight, more than 60 people on two flights from South Africa to the Netherlands tested positive for COVID-19, though it’s unclear if any of those cases involve omicron. At this moment, it’s impossible to tell if omicron is more infectious, more evasive, or more virulent than previous variants. Despite the vaguely ominous moniker, it may turn out to vanish as quickly as other variants that raised alarms. What is clear is that almost two years since the first cases of COVID-19 surfaced in a hospital in Wuhan, China, the world is getting a test to see if it has learned anything about controlling a contagious disease. Read more