Doctors are worried about Omicron, a new coronavirus variant, which may be more transmissible that other variants, like the mutant Delta strain. This is everything you need to know about this new strain.
There is a new coronavirus strain that is causing concern. But how does it differ from what we have previously seen?
Scientists and doctors are working together to discover more about Omicron, the variant that was first identified in South Africa.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the reintroduction in public of certain restrictions after the discovery and subsequent detection of the new variant.
Nowadays, people are required to wear masks in shops as well as on public transport.
Contacts with Omicron-related variants are also required to isolate for 10 Days.
The PCR tests can identify the strain, and it is expected that all UK adults will soon be able to get the booster jab.
This is not all. Any person who arrives in the UK must also take a PCR testing on their second day.
Officials announced this morning that six more cases had been confirmed in Scotland. The UK also reported its first three cases over the weekend.
What is the Omicron version?
What is the Omicron Covid-19 version?
Omicron is a mutant strain of coronavirus.
Omicron might be more resistant than other strains to vaccines and more easily transmissible, but this has yet to been confirmed.
Viruses can be adaptable, which means they can develop over time through genetic mutations (also known as copying errors).
Our immune system is trained to recognize certain viruses and produce antibodies to combat them.
Vaccines are used to create antibodies that protect against specific viruses.
Mutations can look different from our antibodies. The part they attack other cells may change.
This makes it more difficult for our antibodies fight mutations.
Omicron’s variant is different to other strains. This makes the Omicron variant difficult to attack.
According to reports, Omicron variants generally have slightly different symptoms from the Delta variant.
What makes Omicron different from the Delta version?
South Africa’s Omicron was explained by a doctor. “clinical picture doesn’t fit Delta.”
Angelique Coetzee, Chair of the South African Medical Association, spoke to AFP: “We have seen a lot of Delta patients during the third wave.
“This is the best part! [Omicron]Doesn’t fit the clinical picture. Many of them are only seeing very, mild symptoms.”
She said that symptoms of Omicron may be more likely to be extreme tiredness, a scratchy throat and mild muscle ache.
As another general expectation, people are more unlikely to experience a loss of taste or smell.
What does Omicron mean?
Like other variants, Omicron has been named by the World Health Organisation after a letter in the Greek alphabet.
The first 12 letters of the alphabet have already been used to name different strains, which is why names such as ‘Alpha’, ‘Gamma’ and ‘Delta’ may sound familiar.
Other variants have not been known to be as strong or effective, so are less famous.
After the ‘Mu variant,’ the next letter was to be named after the letter “Nu”.
Nu and the next letter Xi were left out, and the new variant is named for the next letter, Omicron’.
According to some reports, this was done to avoid confusion or for political purposes.
Nu might have sounded like a ‘new variant’. This could have been confusing to people. President Xi Jinping is the current leader of China’s Communist Party.
