SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
The Omicron variant is a subtype of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19. It will be the most recent variation as of December 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) received its first report of the disease from South Africa on November 24, 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognised it as a variation of concern on November 26, 2021, and called it "Omicron," after the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
It has an exceptionally high number of mutations, many of which are unique, and a considerable number of which damage the spike protein that was being targeted by most COVID-19 vaccines when the Omicron variation was discovered at the time of the discovery of the variant. With such a high degree of mutation, there have been worries about the virus's transmissibility, immune system evasion, and vaccine resistance, even if early reports indicate that the variant produces less severe sickness than prior strains. Travel restrictions were imposed by numerous nations in an effort to halt the spread of the variation, which was swiftly recognised as "of concern" by the WHO.
The Omicron virus is believed to be far more contagious (that is, it spreads much faster) than previous variants of concern, and it spreads around 70 times faster in the bronchi (lung airways) than any previous variants. However, it is less able to penetrate deep lung tissue, and it may be for this reason that there is a significant reduction in the risk of severe disease requiring hospitalisation. However, because of the exceptionally rapid rate of spread, as well as its capacity to resist both double vaccination and the body's immune system, the overall number of patients needing medical treatment at any given moment continues to be a major source of worry.
The new variation was discovered for the first time on November 22, 2021, in labs in Botswana and South Africa, using samples taken between November 11 and November 16. On November 8, a sample from South Africa was discovered to be the first known sample. A person landing in Hong Kong from South Africa through Qatar on 11 November, as well as another person coming in Belgium from Egypt via Turkey on the same day, were among the first reported incidents on other continents. More than 80 nations have verified the variation as of December 16, 2021, according to the most recent available data. It was believed by the World Health Organization that by the middle of December, Omicron was likely present in most nations, regardless of whether they had discovered it or not.