Some of those mutations are in areas that relate to the spike protein and could allow the virus to bind onto cells more efficiently.Īnother concern is that the genetic tweaks may make it easier for the virus to skirt past antibodies - protective proteins made by the body in response to a vaccine or infection from an earlier variant.īut experts say vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against severe COVID-19. Vaccines, boosters still best defense against critical illnessįueling experts’ concerns are many mutations separating this new variant from Omicron predecessors. Two cases were recently identified on the West Coast of the U.S., and Helix identified a third U.S. It’s also been detected in about 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The latest mutant has been spotted in several distant states in India, and appears to be spreading faster than other variants there, said Lipi Thukral, a scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, the fact that it has already been detected in many parts of the world even with lower levels of viral surveillance “is an early indication it is spreading,” said Shishi Luo, head of infectious diseases for Helix, a company that supplies viral sequencing information to the U.S. “But it does look like, especially in India, the transmission rates are showing kind of that exponential increase.” He said that whether it will outcompete BA.5 is yet to be determined. “It’s still really early for us to draw too many conclusions,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It’s unclear whether it could cause more severe disease than other Omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5. Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious Omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States.
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