A newly identified, heavily-mutated coronavirus strain dubbed ‘Omicron’ is triggering alarm across much of the globe, prompting a rash travel restriction amid fears that existing vaccines will be unable to stop the variant.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) convened an emergency meeting to discuss the viral strain, which had previously been known as B.1.1529, declaring it a “variant of concern” while giving it the new name of ‘Omicron’. The agency stated, “Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other strains.” While little is yet known about Omicron, WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan noted that it carried “a number of worrying mutations” that could make the strain more infections than any observed before.
The large number of mutations have also prompted fears that Omicron could be resistant to existing vaccines and therapeutics, especially as currently available immunizations have been seen to lose effectiveness over time against other known variants of concern. One major determining factor in the transmissibility of the virus is the evolution of its “spike proteins” – microscopic protrusion that allow the coronavirus to access and hijack host cells, causing infection. A strain detected in South Africa in May 2020 and dubbed ‘Beta’ had three significant mutations in its spike region, which helped make it between 20 and 30% more infectious. Omicron on the other hand, is thought to have at least 32 spike mutations.
