The omicron strain of Coronavirus may be more transmissible than other variants and is partially resistant to existing vaccines

ABSTRACT

The study first interpreted all the data from the alpha to the delta strain. Then comparative data characterized the omicron of the coronavirus strain. Omicron, the SARS-CoV-2 variant responsible for a cluster of cases in South Africa and that is now spreading around the world, is the most heavily mutated variant to emerge so far and carries mutations similar to changes seen in previous variants of concern associated with enhanced transmissibility and partial resistance to vaccine induced immunity. Daily case numbers in South Africa had been fairly low but then rose rapidly from 273 on 16 November to more than 1200 by 25 November, more than 80% of which were in the northern province of Gauteng, where the first cases were seen. Europe's first case of the variant was confirmed in Belgium on 26 November in a person who tested positive for covid-19 on 22 November. By 29 November cases had been reported in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy. The UK had recorded nine cases by the morning of 29 November, six of them in Scotland. Elsewhere in the world cases have been reported in Botswana, Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia, which has had extremely tight border controls through the pandemic.