THE new Omicron variant of coronavirus, with its many mutations and seemingly quick spread in South Africa, is worrying scientists and government officials. Delta currently accounts for more than 99 percent of cases of coronavirus that are genetically sequenced in the U.S., according to CDC. It remains to be seen whether Omicron will outcompete Delta, but it will be tough. Much is being made of the 50 mutations that mark the Omicron variant — 32 of them on the spike protein, which is the club-shaped structure that covers the surface of the virus and is used to attach to human cells so the virus may infect them. But Delta has its own constellation of scary mutations, and they’ve made it the worst version of the virus yet seen. It races through populations, replacing more worrying variants that have mutations that should allow them to evade the effects of vaccines, like the Beta variant, for instance. Robert Garry, a virologist at Tulane University, has done a head-to-head comparison of the mutations seen in Delta and Omicron. Omicron does have “a chunk of them at once,” Garry said. “But we’ve kind of seen that kind of leap in evolution before,” he added. “There are definitely hotspots where this virus likes to mutate now,” he said. But just because there are many mutations doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll add up to a meaner virus. He does not see many important mutations that might make the Omicron version more contagious than Delta. Other genetics experts also note Omicron does not carry some of the changes that helped make Delta so very contagious. “Given that Omicron lacks so many of the non-spike mutations that have seemed to contribute to Delta’s increased fitness I wouldn’t be surprised if its intrinsic transmissibility is similar to Gamma,” Trevor Bedford, a genome scientist and epidemiologist at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, said on Twitter. He referenced a study in September from researchers at the Broad Institute who found at least three mutations on the Delta variant that they said appeared to help make it more transmissible. Some of the mutations that increase transmissibility are also seen in variants that died out, such as one called Kappa. Garry does see mutations that might help Omicron to evade the body’s immune response — especially from previous infections. “It’s likely immune evasive. So is Delta, and before that Alpha and Beta. Should we be working on a specific vaccine? Yes,” he said. The immune response prompted by vaccination is broader than the response produced by a natural infection, so vaccinated people may still be protected from severe disease, doctors said. And there’s no known mutation that can make a virus evade precautions such as face masks, handwashing and physical distancing. Even if a mutation helps a virus become more viable as an airborne pathogen, better ventilation can help prevent transmission. (SD-Agencies) | 