Omicron -New COVID-19 Variant Everything You Need To Know

Omicron is a new Variant of the COVID-19Virus. Find out everything you need to know about this new Variant. Is the new variant more dangerous, How To Detect Omicron and Whether there are new Symptoms?

COVID-19

Coronavirus Disease 2019 was a contagious disease caused by the SARS Coronavirus 2. It was first reported in China back in Decembe2 2019. It spread quickly to other countries which lead to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Its Symptoms include Fever, Cough, Headache, Loss of Taste and Smell, Fatigue, Breathing Difficulties, etc. Older people were at a higher risk of developing more severe symptoms. People claim to be affected by a range of effects even months after recovering. This was because COVID-19 was known to cause damage to Organs that take a very long time to resuscitate. COVID-19 is an airborne disease. And people got infected by breathing airborne particles containing the virus. There have been cases where infected people do not develop any symptoms. But can still transmit/spread the virus. Social Distancing and Masks were used to control the spread of the disease and were proven quite effective.

Omicron – A New COVID-19 Variant

This new Variant was first reported in South Africa and is quickly spreading to other countries. The new Virus has a concerning array of mutations. That makes it more than capable of faster transmission. And have more severe symptoms than the Delta Variant. The World Health Organization labeled Omicron as a “Variant of Concern” in light of its mutations. Evidence suggests Omicron has a higher chance of Reinfection compared to the other variants. Scientists are having a hard time sequencing Omicron. As there have been less than 100 cases Worldwide. The new Variant can be detected using Standard PCR Tests. What’s different about this strain is that this particular variant lack one of the target genes used to Detect COVID-19. Therefore the Standard PCR test can be used to Detect Omicron. This method was used to detect the variant at a much faster rate than the previous.

What We Know Till Now

Scientists discovered this new Variant on the 9th of November. And is hopeful that they caught the variant Early. South Africa has one of the best Genome Srvailence Systems in the World. And there only being 100 Detected cases of Omicron is very good news. The transmission of COVID-19 has increased dramatically in the past weeks since the discovery of Omicron. The cases went from about 275 a day to 3,700 a day. Omicron was found to have some of the more dangerous mutations which were found in the Alpha and Delta Variants. The mutations have faster transmissibility, resistance to the Vaccine, and causing more severe symptoms. Scientists discovered about 32 Mutations on the Variant’s Spike Protein. Other Variants have had fewer Spike Mutations. The Spike Protein is what infects our cells and so this Mutation is very Concerning Indeed

Should People Be Worried About Omicron

Having more mutations than its predecessors does not necessarily make Omicron more Dangerous. It’s very early to tell whether Omicron is Better or Worse than Delta. And Whether or not it is resistant to the present vaccine is Unknown. Scientists are still waiting on Studies to see how the COVID-19 Antigents hold up against Omicron. It’s a waiting game now as the results can take weeks. Scientists are also keeping a close eye on the Transmission rate. Since the Virus was caught early they were able to take necessary Precautions. So far as we know Masks, Social Distancing, and Vaccines Work. The Executive Director of WHO said Viruses evolve and new Variants arise. And people should spend their lives in Fear of Them.

Stay Tuned with Global Coverage for Future Updates on Omicron.