Last week, South African scientists found a new COVID-19 variant which the World Health Organisation (WHO) named Omicron, dubbing it as a ‘variant of concern’. The overall level of risk associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron is assessed as ‘high’ to ‘very high’ which is why several countries have also reimposed travel bans from South Africa and other countries that have reported cases of the same.
What is the origin story of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron?
It is not clear where the new COVID-19 variant Omicron originated from, however, according to South African epidemiologist Professor Salim Abdool Karim, the variant was “first described in Botswana and shortly thereafter in South Africa”.
The discovery of a new COVID-19 variant was first announced on November 25 and in a matter of days, cases of the Omicron variant were detected in countries like Israel, the UK, Italy, Canada, Hong Kong, Portugal, among others.
New COVID-19 variant Omicron – Mutations
Professor Salim Abdool Karim also said that Omicron has some mutations that scientists are aware of and know well. “We know that this variant has mutations similar to those with increased immune escape,” Karim said.
On Monday, WHO said in a statement, “Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic. The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high.”
New COVID-19 variant Omicron – How can you stay protected?
Urging countries to encourage contact tracing, WHO said, “The use of masks, physical distancing, ventilation of indoor space, crowd avoidance, and hand hygiene remain key to reducing transmission of SARS CoV-2 even with the emergence of the Omicron variant.”
On the other hand, speaking of vaccine effectiveness, Professor Salim Abdool Karim said, “Based on what we know, we can expect that we can still see high effectiveness of vaccines to prevent severe disease and hospitalisation.”
As for the severity of the infection caused by the Omicron variant, scientists are still unclear about the same as they don’t have enough data.
As of now, the Omicron variant has not been reported in India.
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