The whole world is still reeling from Covid-19. Dangerous variants are constantly appearing, breaking the defense wall of vaccines. However, scientists believe that the SARS-CoV-2 virus cannot evolve forever. Is Omicron variant the ultimate disturbing variant?
What is Omicron variant?
Omicron is the name of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. It was first discovered in Botswana, South Africa on November 11, 2021. The growth as well as the rate of spread of Omicron increases exponentially every day. Therefore, WHO immediately listed it as dangerous variants.
How dangerous is Omicron?
Omicron has up to 60 mutations with a rapid spread in the community. Up to now, this variant has appeared in more than 50 countries around the world.
On November 11, 2021, South Africa detected the first 120 samples of Omicron. However, after only 17 days, the number of Omicron infections skyrocketed to 2038 cases. By December 3, 2021, the number of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 had increased nearly 7 times. As a result, South Africa recorded up to 16.000 cases per day.
Scientists confirm that Omicron has a spreading speed that is 5-6 times faster than previous variants. In addition, the risk of reinfection with Omicron was also 3 times higher than the risk of reinfection with the Delta and Beta variants.
Omicron is the end of Covid-19
Viruses evolve just like any other living organism. So, every few months, we detect a few new variants of SARS-CoV-2. However, viruses can’t evolve forever.
According to the laws of biochemistry, they often develop until they reach the most perfect level. In other words, the virus’s ability to spread, its genome replication, and its entry into human cells will grow to the peak efficiency.
If Omicron is the most contagious variant, it cannot continue to mutate because of the limit of heritability. This is like…the zebra can’t evolve to have extra eyes on the back of its head to avoid enemies.
Although Omicron increased the spread of the virus, it did not increase mortality. In addition, having been infected with Covid-19 also reduces the likelihood of severe illness and death.
Omicron won’t be the last variant of SARS-CoV-2, but it could be the last one to worry about. Gradually, the danger of SARS-CoV-2 will decrease over time.
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