The new coronavirus variant known as Omicron has the world on edge: Here’s what we know
Original article from The Boston Globe , 2021
It’s not the news that anybody weary of the long slog of the coronavirus pandemic wanted to hear while trying to relax the day after Thanksgiving. But a new and potentially dangerous variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected, and it’s causing jitters around a pandemic-weary world. Here, compiled from Globe wire service and major media reports, is what you need to know about the variant.
What is a variant?
Variants are mutations of the coronavirus. Scientists say viruses constantly mutate naturally as they replicate and circulate in their hosts. Sometimes these mutants disappear. Other times they persist and can outcompete rival variants. The World Health Organization on Friday deemed the new mutation a “variant of concern,” and, using its Greek letter naming convention, dubbed it “Omicron.”
Where was this new variant found?
The variant, technically known as B.1.1.529, was reported Thursday by South African health officials. So far only a few dozen cases of the variant have been identified in that country as well as Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong, and Israel. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, told CNN Friday there’s no evidence the variant has arrived here in the United States.
What’s different about this variant?
Omicron has a “very unusual constellation of mutations,” according to Tulio de Oliveira, director of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform. “This variant did surprise us — it has a big jump in evolution, many more mutations than we expected, especially after a very severe third wave of Delta.” The Delta variant, which arrived earlier this year, accounts for nearly 100 percent of cases in the United States and continues to cause illness and death at a high rate.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said Thursday in a social media posting, “We don’t know very much about [Omicron] yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that when you have so many mutations it can have an impact on how the virus behaves.”