Just as the world seemed to be returning to routine, Covid-19 instances are on the rise due to the infamous Omicron version, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified as "Variant of Concern."

In fact, there's news coming out that Omicron Variant of Concern B.1.1.529 may be more dangerous than the Delta variant which caused India's deadly second wave of Covid-19 earlier this summer.

There is a lot still unknown about the transmissibility of this new Omicron variant of coronavirus, but early reports indicate it to be at least six times more severe than the Delta variant.

According to a report from the Times of India (TOI), experts fear that patients infected by the Omicron variant may not respond to monoclonal antibody therapy or cocktail treatments, evade immune system defences and cause breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people.

Here are three views that illustrate how awful the Omicron version may be:


1. Omicron is better at mutating than other Concern Variants.

According to nference Labs, the Omicron variant is just better at mutating than all previous Covid variants of the past -- Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants.


According to the tweet, Omicron possesses the most new Spike mutations, including a conspicuous cluster on the "crown," implying strong selection pressure and antigenic differentiation from previous strains. 

nference Labs noted in an email that Omicron contains 26 distinct 'spike' mutations, whereas no other Covid variation has had more than 10. According to the studies conducted by nference Labs, the Omicron version is also superior at evading immune response.

2. Omicron cases spike in South Africa

According to multiple accounts, the Omicron variant's propagation is causing something similar in South Africa right now, similar to how the Delta variant caused hospitalization and cases to grow out of control earlier this summer in India. 



This graph above shared in a tweet by a Twitter user underlines the Omicron case rise spike in South Africa, as it suddenly sees an insane upsurge in November 2021, becoming more dominant than any other Covid variant in the country.

Observing the red line that's lying dormant all through January 2021 to October 2021, before spiking all through November 2021, pushing the medical community to focus all attention on the Omicron variant.

3. Not a "mild" mutation

According to epidemiologist Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, the Omicron variant is not a "mild" variant to be taken lightly. Its mutation is quite something, according to his tweet:
The Omicron variant is "leaps & bounds different than other SARSCoV2 variants," according to Feigl-Ding, as he warned not to throw caution to the wind.
In all likeliness, early sign trickling down the medical community suggests that the Omicron variant is going to cause some concern, as countries like Israel and others in EU start shutting down their physical borders once again.
Please stay safe, wear a mask if you have to get out of the house, ensure to exercise social distancing in public places, wash your hands with soap always.
What are your concerns about the new Omicron variant? Let us know in the comments below, and keep reading our blog.