The remaining Greek Alphabet: Xi Ξ ξ Omicron Ο ο Pi Π π Rho Ρ ρ Sigma Σ σ Tau Τ τ Upsilon Υ υ Phi Φ φ Chi Χ χ Psi Ψ ψ Omega Ω ω Thus, we have 11 more Variants of Concern to reach to put the world in a panic...again and again. Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer wrbtrader
Wapo: Announcement of new virus variant alarms world, crashing stocks and banning flights The number of mutations of the new variant and their location have scientists on high alert, fearful that the changes could make the new strain more resistant to vaccines, more transmissible or cause more serious illness in more people. “This new variant of the covid-19 virus is very worrying. It is the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen to date,” Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School in Britain, told science journalists. “This variant carries some changes we’ve seen previously in other variants but never all together in one virus. It also has novel mutations that we’ve not seen before.”
WHO labels new Covid strain as variant of concern named Omicron with possible increased reinfection risk What do we know so far? South African scientist Tulio de Oliveira said at a media briefing on Thursday that the Omicron variant contains around 50 mutations, but more than 30 of these are in the spike protein, the region of the protein that interacts with human cells prior to cell entry. What’s more, the receptor binding domain (the part of the virus that first makes contact with our cells) has 10 mutations, far greater than just two for the delta Covid variant, which spread rapidly earlier this year to become the dominant strain worldwide. This level of mutation means it most likely came from a single patient who could not clear the virus, giving it the chance to genetically evolve. The same hypothesis was proposed for the alpha Covid variant. Around 100 Omicron variant genomes have been identified in South Africa, mostly in the Gauteng province. The variant has also been detected in Israel, Botswana and Hong Kong. Many of the mutations identified in the Omicron variant are linked to increased antibody resistance, which may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and affect how the virus behaves with regard to inoculation, treatments and transmissibility, health officials have said.
I thought researchers followed the Greek Alphabet in order. Thus, what happen to Xi Ξ ξ ? Looks like they skipped it and went to Omicron Ο ο. Maybe they skipped Xi because it may imply China's President Xi Also, I just learned that Omicron has now been found in other countries with low vaccination rates like South Africa...such as Hong Kong...a major international travel hub. In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if the decision by some of the wealthy countries (e.g. Canada and the United States) to vaccinate their citizens first prior to donating vaccines to the poorer countries...they may now regret that decision because it exposed the poorer countries to a higher risk of giving birth to a new Variant of Concern that eventually impacts the entire world. wrbtrader
WHO Statement Classification of Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 26 November 2021 Statement Reading time: 2 min (616 words) The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is an independent group of experts that periodically monitors and evaluates the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and assesses if specific mutations and combinations of mutations alter the behaviour of the virus. The TAG-VE was convened on 26 November 2021 to assess the SARS-CoV-2 variant: B.1.1.529. The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant. 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. 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. Current SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics continue to detect this variant. Several labs have indicated that for one widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected (called S gene dropout or S gene target failure) and this test can therefore be used as marker for this variant, pending sequencing confirmation. 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. There are a number of studies underway and the TAG-VE will continue to evaluate this variant. WHO will communicate new findings with Member States and to the public as needed. Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology, the TAG-VE has advised WHO that this variant should be designated as a VOC, and the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a VOC, named Omicron. As such, countries are asked to do the following: enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. submit complete genome sequences and associated metadata to a publicly available database, such as GISAID. report initial cases/clusters associated with VOC infection to WHO through the IHR mechanism. where capacity exists and in coordination with the international community, perform field investigations and laboratory assessments to improve understanding of the potential impacts of the VOC on COVID-19 epidemiology, severity, effectiveness of public health and social measures, diagnostic methods, immune responses, antibody neutralization, or other relevant characteristics. Individuals are reminded to take measures to reduce their risk of COVID-19, including proven public health and social measures such as wearing well-fitting masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, improving ventilation of indoor spaces, avoiding crowded spaces, and getting vaccinated.
Omicron COVID-19 variant: Pfizer, BioNTech say vaccine could be reworked in 100 days to counter strain Implies that the current vaccine may not be effective against Omicron.
This market drop is just because they gave it the 2nd most ominous sounding Greek letter. It would be good to put the wind up China by calling it Xi instead.
Well here is the list they can possible select from. What happens when they run out of Greek letters.