Sarah Palmer is a virologist at Westmead Institute Centre for Virus Research in Sydney, Australia. She and her colleagues are following up on new insights into living with Omicron variant. They hope to understand the variant better. And to learn to predict what it is likely to do next. However, they have already made ‘deeply concerning’ findings, according to ABC News on December 5, 2021.
Palmer’s Research Starts Ringing Alarm Bells
Palmer is at pains to emphasize the following discoveries are brand new, making further investigation essential.
1… Omicron includes a spike protein mutation that makes it far more infectious.
2… But it also has a spike protein mutation that may reduce vaccine effectiveness.
However, when the Westhead researchers followed a different direction they discovered something even more concerning. This finding suggests the variant may be a recombinant one. In other words ‘a supercharged love child of the early Alpha variant plus Delta variants’.
This possibility has apparently not come up with SARS-CoV-2 until now. Palmer warns ‘We’re very, very concerned. There could be a recombination that could lead to a more pathogenic, and infectious virus.’
New Insights into Living with Omicron Sound Alarms
Meanwhile U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced extension of approval of the Lilly monoclonal antibody treatment. This is now available to children under 12, and infants including newborns who test positive for the virus.
Monoclonal antibody treatments stimulate immune systems to attack invading pathogens. As New York Times explains, the relaxation of the previous restriction coincides with arrival of the more contagious Omicron variant.
It is better to know the truth than to remain ignorant. Therefore we welcome these new insights into living with Omicron, as the time for a winter surge approaches. U.S. parents can sleep better now knowing there is medication for little kids. However, their primary duty remains protecting them from infection.
Breaking News
Prepare for a Future That Will Be Different
What We Know About Omicron Variant
Preview Image: Antibodies Prevent Infections
Links to ABC and New York Times Reports
