The New Version of Covid: How Much Should We Worry About?

We’re back in familiar territory – growing concern over the new version of the coronavirus. The latter is the most extreme version of the mutation ever discovered – and has such a long list of modifications that one scientist called it “terrible” while another told me it was the worst option they had ever seen.

This was initially and confirmed cases are still concentrated mainly in one province in South Africa, but there is evidence that they may have spread further. The immediate question is how quickly the new variant will spread. How some can circumvent the protection provided by the vaccine, and what can be done about it.

There is a lot of speculation but very few clear answers. This variant is called Omicron by the World Health Organization, based on examples of Greek code names such as the alpha and delta variants. He also mutated very hard. Prof. Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa. Said an “unusual collection of mutations” was “very different” from other standard variants.

“We were surprised by this option; there was a huge evolutionary leap [and] more mutations that we expected,” he said.

In a media briefing, Prof. de Oliveira says that there are a total of 50 mutations and more than 30 spine proteins. Which are the target of most vaccines and the key that viruses use to open doors to our body’s cells.

Even more significant in the receptor-binding domain (the part of the virus that makes first contact with. Our body’s cells), it has ten mutations compared to just two for the world-spanning Delta variant. This mutation rate most likely came from patients who failed to beat the virus.

Many mutations do not automatically mean: bad. Therefore, it is essential to know what precisely this mutation does. However, the concern is that the virus is now very different from the original that emerged in Wuhan, China. This means that vaccines developed using the initial strain may not be as effective.

Several mutations have been observed in other variants, which provides an idea of ​​their possible role in these variants. For example, N501Y appeared to facilitate the spread of the coronavirus. Some on the inside can make antibodies harder to spot viruses and vaccines less effective, but some are entirely new too.

Professor Richard Lessels from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa said: “You are concerned that this virus may have increased transmission and ability to spread from person to person, but may also be able to target part of the immune system bypass. System. “