New COVID-19 mutant raises concerns
The new COVID-19 BA.2.75 Omicron variant raises concerns as it gains ground in India, the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.
According to experts, the BA.2.75 could spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other Omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5.
Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said that although it is “really early” to draw conclusions on the new variant, “it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase.”
Fueling experts’ concerns are a large number of mutations separating this new variant from Omicron predecessors.
Binnicker explained that the spike protein mutation could allow the virus to bind onto cells more efficiently. Another concern is that the genetic tweaks may make it easier for the virus to skirt past antibodies — protective proteins made by the body in response to a vaccine or infection from an earlier variant.
However, experts say vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against the COVID-19 virus. Vaccine manufacturers in the US are also expected to release new formulations that target more recent Omicron strains.
