COVID-19: Is Omicron a Serious Concern or a Deadlock for Evolution? | world News

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So the new variant has a name, but we have no idea what its reputation is.

The Omicron variant looks intimidating on paper at least. It contains more mutations than any previously observed strain of COVID.

And mutations are not just a random patchwork of genetic changes. There are an alarming number of them in the parts of the virus that we know are important to becoming more infectious as well as avoiding antibodies and other parts of the immune system.

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2:58 How worried is the new COVID variant?

Take the receptor-binding domain, an essential part of the virus spike protein that allows it to stick to our cells. The delta variant has two RBD mutations, and the now rare beta variant (formerly known as the South African variant) has three.

Omicron contains 10. If there was a list of potential mutations suitable for a human host, Omicron requested full English.

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That’s what got the scientists standing up and noticing when their colleagues in South Africa first published the new shape’s sequence.

But what’s causing the international response today is evidence that the recent sharp rise in cases in South Africa may be due to Omicron. Its powers may not only be theoretical.

But it’s likely we’re weeks away from knowing whether Omicron is a serious concern or another of the many evolutionary dead ends of COVID.

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3:04 A new variant of COVID-19 called Omicron

First, its role in the recent surge in cases in South Africa has yet to be confirmed. They certainly make up the majority of cases in the COVID increase in Gauteng County (the area around Johannesburg and Pretoria), and there is evidence that they are on the rise elsewhere in South Africa.

But cases are very low in the country – about 70 times less than the daily average in the UK. Even a small increase in the numbers of a new variable can seem worrisome when the numbers are low.

Then there’s the fact that the short natural history of COVID-19 has taught us that appearances can be deceiving.

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7:57 A new COVID variant: Q and A.

A beta variable is an example of this. It was effective in avoiding antibodies from vaccines, and it caused a major wave of infection in South Africa but did not gain a foothold against the more contagious delta variant.

When Delta spread to South Africa, it quickly replaced Beta.

According to the theory, having too many mutations may cause the virus to end up in another part of its biology, making it less suitable in a slightly different environment than the one in which it evolved.

What scientists in South Africa are now doing is increasing the Omicron strain in the lab so they can begin testing it against antibodies from people who have been vaccinated or previously infected.

They are also planning to share samples with colleagues abroad including teams in the UK.

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These trials should confirm whether Omicron is really more contagious, or can avoid vaccines and maintain the Delta strain.

But this will take weeks of work. Until then, all eyes will be on the outbreak in South Africa to see if it provides more answers: Is this just the first, but short-lived, to scrape a glamorous but flawed viral mutation? Or are we witnessing the next big evolutionary step for COVID?

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