Understanding omicron, the new COVID-19 variant

Countries around the world are making preparations against omicron, a new variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Although it hasn ’t yet been detected in the United States (as of Nov. 29, 2021), health officials are once again cautioning the public about getting vaccinated, frequent testing and potentially stepping up tried-and-true measures to prevent transmission such as mask-wearing and hand-washing.We spoke with  Shangxin Yang, a pathologist at UCLA Health, about the new variant and what everyone needs to know.How is the omicron variant different from the delta variant and others?It has a lot of mutations in its genome. Compared to the original coronavirus, the delta variant has fewer than 20 genetic changes to the gene for the spike protein. The omicron variant has more than 30 genetic changes. It ’s almost double.The more changes there are in the spike protein gene, the more likely the vaccines and the therapeutic drugs could lose their efficacy. It ’s not good news, especially for those who have not been vaccinated.It ’s no surprise that we’re seeing this at the starting point of the winter. The outbreak really intensifies during the holiday season because places become more crowded due to travel and shopping. It’s the perfect time for omicron to start emerging and it has the potential to become another big variant.Is the omicron variant more dangerous or more contagious than delta?There are not enough data or cases reported to know yet. Â...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news