Twitter thread from a vaccine developer: <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1464222680731820043.html" rel="nofollow">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1464222680731820043.html</a><p>A lot of speculation still, but it's not all bad so far.
"In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of B.1.1.529 variant. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021.<p>This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa"
My current take (not a virologist, doctor):<p>At this point, if you are not immunocompromised and you have the first vaccination and a booster. You should be able to easily recover regardless of the mutation(s). The virus would need to completely diverge from SARS-CoV-2 in order to fully defeat the countermeasures of the current vaccinations.
Here's the link on CoVariants (aka 21K): <a href="https://covariants.org/variants/21K" rel="nofollow">https://covariants.org/variants/21K</a><p>Gives a better breakdown of what we're actually talking about.
>Using this approach, this variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage.<p>Really? I wonder how much of this is "it's very easy to spot in the pcr" and we don't have to Redeploy tests..
It is called variant of *concern* not variant of *panic*. So while it may be wise to stop travelling (European here) it is absolutely useless to speculate about the doom it brings.
Doom is what we already do with ineffective measures to fight Delta (German here).
I swear I’ve read a hundred articles saying “here’s what we should’ve done to prevent this pandemic”. Let’s see if any lessons have been really learned; a new variant is practice for the next virus that comes on the scene. With the testing tech we have now, proper tracing, quarantines, and travel restrictions, could a variant be bottled up?
Omicron? Was not it Nu like few hours ago?
I like the longer name better. Our ministry of finance has already made a typo in a Facebook post calling it Mu (like the sound cows make).
Interesting choice to pick "Omicron" instead of "Nu," which news outlets had been expecting them to use. Perhaps this allows them to avoid having to use "Xi" as the name of a Covid variant, which would have been...inconvenient for the WHO.
Like the common cold or the flu, odds are the coronavirus will be with us forever in some form or another. It is unrealistic to create a vaccine for every variant. We should learn how to treat, and allow natural immunity to take over. Take the 0.07% (correction) chance of death.<p>Edit: Stupid math error.