The Omicron Virus Could Put a Damper on Reopening the World

Students in Rwanda wash their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past several weeks, a new strain of COVID-19—dubbed the Omicron variant by scientists—has been discovered in southern Africa. 

The new Omicron strain is ostensibly more transmissible and infectious than other strains and has the potential to seriously disrupt international reopening plans, although there is much still unknown about Omicron.

Since November 9, COVID-19 cases of the new Omicron variant have been reported in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, and Belgium. However, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that there is a “high to very high” risk that the Omicron strain will spread to Europe.  

South African scientists, who were able to sequence the genome of the new strain, said that there are more than 30 mutations in the spike protein, which is the protein the virus uses to penetrate cells. Scientists are concerned that these genetic mutations could make the disease more infectious, affecting the efficacy of the vaccines, which target the spike protein.

A representative for Moderna said that “the combination of mutations represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the waning of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.” If, however, the vaccines prove to be ineffective, Moderna and the USDA may recommend a larger dose to combat this new strain. 

Public health officials, however, do not necessarily believe that the vaccines will be rendered completely useless by the variant. Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, said, “The question is, is there a tiny hit to vaccine efficacy, or is there a large hit? I think we’ll get some preliminary data probably in the next few days.”

The United States and the European Union have both agreed to enact travel restrictions on many countries in southern Africa in order to prevent the spread of the Omicron strain.