Expect More Worrisome COVID Variants After Omicron, Scientists Say

[babylonsister]

Expect More Worrisome COVID Variants After Omicron, Scientists Say
Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind spread across the globe practically ensures it won’t be the last worrisome coronavirus variant.
Laura Ungar
01/15/2022 02:17pm EST


Get ready to learn more Greek letters. Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind advance practically ensures it won’t be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world.

Every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate, and omicron has an edge over its predecessors: It spreads way faster despite emerging on a planet with a stronger patchwork of immunity from vaccines and prior illness.

That means more people in whom the virus can further evolve. Experts don’t know what the next variants will look like or how they might shape the pandemic, but they say there’s no guarantee the sequels of omicron will cause milder illness or that existing vaccines will work against them.

They urge wider vaccination now, while today’s shots still work.

“The faster omicron spreads, the more opportunities there are for mutation, potentially leading to more variants,” Leonardo Martinez, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University, said.

more...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-virus-outbreak-new-variants_n_61e31c91e4b0a864b07363b6

[stopdiggin]

1. since we have kind of maxed out vaccination

(with the exception of boosters - and children) in much of the west - I think the game plan now has to swing toward getting as much of the rest of the globe vaxed, as quickly as we/they can.

(Unfortunately, the anti-vax rot is also making inroads around the world. And it would have obviously been better done sooner. Perhaps that is one of the major takeaways for the next pandemic the world faces. Needles in arms - everywhere - today!)