omicron
More than 300 Omicron variants in circulation globally
BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are among the more than 300 sub-lineages of the Omicron variant circulating globally, 95 percent of which are direct descendants of BA.5, according to the WHO. In early July, BA.5 became the dominant subvariant of the coronavirus circulating in the United States, but in October it started giving way to BQ.1 and
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WHO reluctant to label new Omicron strains as variants of concern
Despite the fact that they’re driving a spurt in COVID cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) says XBB and BQ.1 are not different enough from each other, or from other Omicron lineages, to warrant labelling them new variants of concern. Variants of concern are those that show increased transmissibility, virulence or change in clinical disease,
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Scientists create a deadlier Omicron variant
Twitter exploded with outrage last week about a study in which scientists engineered the spike protein of Omicron—the fast-spreading but relatively mild variant of SARS-CoV-2 that’s now pervasive—into a deadlier strain of the coronavirus found in Washington state early in the pandemic. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-climate-justice-ethical-mask-wearers-and-cdc-under-trump The objective was to learn whether the protein alone explains Omicron’s lower
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BQ.1 Omicron strains increasing in prevalence
United States (US) health regulators on Friday estimated that BQ.1 and closely related BQ.1.1 accounted for 16.6% of coronavirus variants in the country, nearly doubling from last week, while Europe expects them to become the dominant variants in a month. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the variants are likely to drive
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Omicron subvariants becoming dominant strains
The subvariants known as BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BQ.1.3, BA.2.3.20 and XBB are among the fastest spreading of the main Omicron lineages. Based on UK data, the BQ variants, as well as BA.2.75.2 and BF.7 are the most concerning due to their growth advantage and immune evasiveness, the US health security agency has said. BF.7 has also
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How COVID-19 is able to evade our immune systems
While COVID-19 has fallen from the spotlight of media attention, the pandemic is far from over. Through a process referred to as immune evasion – or antibody escape – the virus has endured and continues to spread throughout the globe. With winter fast approaching, we could soon expect another wave. The hallmark waves of the
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New COVID-19 strains threaten winter surge
Nearly 3 years into the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 seems to be still up to the challenge of finding new ways around the immunity humans have built up through vaccines and countless infections. Several new and highly immune-evasive strains of the virus have caught scientists’ attention in recent weeks; one or more may well cause big, new
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Most common current COVID lineages now derive from Omicron strain
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) began assigning Greek letters to worrying new variants of the coronavirus. The organization started with Alpha and swiftly worked its way through the Greek alphabet in the months that followed. When Omicron arrived in November, it was the 13th named variant in less than a year. But 10
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Yet another COVID variant – Omicron BA.4.6
Another new COVID variant is spreading – here’s what we know about omicron BA.4.6 BA.4.6, a subvariant of the omicron COVID variant which has been quickly gaining traction in the US, is now confirmed to be spreading in the UK. The latest briefing document on COVID variants from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) noted
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