Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Jerrol Thompson, during a call to the Issues at Hand program on WEFM yesterday, took the time to discuss the Omicron variant of COVID-19’s high level of mutation, explaining why it has the world on high alert and comparing it’s mutation to that of the Delta variant.
“What is ominous about the Omicron is the extremely high number of mutation of the variant, they found 32 mutations alone in the spike protein that sits on top of the virus and this can be compared with the Delta Virus that only has 8 mutations. So you can see the significance in the level of mutation.” He said.
Dr. Thompson said that mutations can take place anywhere within the virus, but he noted that mutations on the spike protein is of particular concern to health experts.
“Mutations can occur anywhere in the virus, but we are concerned when the mutation actually takes place on the spike protein that sits on top of these viruses. While these mutations are not an exact indication of how dangerous a new variant is, it does suggest that the human immune system may find it harder to fight this new variant depending on where the mutation is”. He said.
According to Dr. Thompson there are definite indications that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is five hundred times more transmissible than the Delta variant.
