Highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant sparks significant concern among global experts – What is known so far?

Poudel, Sujan; Ishak, Angela; Perez-Fernandez, Javier; Garcia, Efrain; León-Figueroa, Darwin A.; Romaní, Luccio; Bonilla-Aldana, D. Katterine; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J.

doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102234

Cited by 86 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Asn501Tyr enhances ACE2 receptor binding ( Ali et al, 2021 ), thereby may help in transmission. D614G, N501Y, and K417 will likely make the Omicron more infectious ( Poudel et al, 2022 ). D614G mutation is present in all the VOCs, and N501Y is also present in all VOCs, excluding the Delta variant ( Shanmugaraj et al, 2021 , Corum and Zimmer, 2021 ).…”

Section: Mutations In Omicron and Their Biological Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, salient features, high global health concerns and strategies to counter it amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Khandia

Singhal

Alqahtani

et al. 2022

Environmental Research

215

196

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Since the appearance in the late of December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly evolving and mutating continuously, giving rise to various variants with variable degrees of infectivity and lethality. The virus that initially appeared in China later mutated several times, wreaking havoc and claiming many lives worldwide amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. After Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants, the most recently emerged variant of concern (VOC) is the Omicron (B.1.1.529) that has evolved due to the accumulation of high numbers of mutations especially in the spike protein, raising concerns for its ability to evade from pre-existing immunity acquired through vaccination or natural infection as well as overpowering antibodies-based therapies. Several theories are on the surface to explain how the Omicron has gathered such a high number of mutations within less time. Few of them are higher mutation rates within a subgroup of population and then its introduction to a larger population, long term persistence and evolution of the virus in immune-compromised patients, and epizootic infection in animals from humans, where under different immune pressures the virus mutated and then got reintroduced to humans. Multifaceted approach including rapid diagnosis, genome analysis of emerging variants, ramping up of vaccination drives and receiving booster doses, efficacy testing of vaccines and immunotherapies against newly emerged variants, updating the available vaccines, designing of multivalent vaccines able to generate hybrid immunity, up-gradation of medical facilities and strict implementation of adequate prevention and control measures need to be given high priority to handle the on-going SARS-CoV-2 pandemic successfully.

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Section: Mutations In Omicron and Their Biological Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, salient features, high global health concerns and strategies to counter it amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Khandia

Singhal

Alqahtani

et al. 2022

Environmental Research

215

196

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As demonstrated here, Omicron has a substantial transmission potential to penetrate the existing herd protection due to mass vaccination in many countries and regions [ 5 ]. Key questions to be yet answered include (1) the vaccine effectiveness against Omicron, especially among countries that used different types of vaccine (e.g., messenger RNA vaccine) and (2) the clinical severity of infection across a broad spectrum of age and underlying health conditions.…”

Section: Remaining Key Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Reproduction Number of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) Compared with Delta Variant in South Africa

Nishiura

Ito

Anzai

et al. 2021

JCM

Self Cite

142

113

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“…More recently, WHO technical advisory labeled a new variant “B.1.1.529,” called the Omicron variant. This newly discovered infectious variant can possibly spread more rapidly than the prevailing known variants of the COVID-19 virus [3] . During the ongoing pandemic, the anti-vaccine movement, raging new COVID-19 variants (e.g., Delta and Omicron), and immunity debt have fueled skepticism towards the possibility of a worldwide vaccine-induced herd immunity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Immunity debt or vaccination crisis? A multi-method evidence on vaccine acceptance and media framing for emerging COVID-19 variants

Yousaf

Raza

Mahmood

et al. 2022

Vaccine

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Renewed COVID-19 outbreaks, stemming from the highly infectious Delta and Omicron variants, prompted rising fears of a ‘pandemic among the unvaccinated’. To address this prevalent vaccination crisis, media framing communication strategies can amplify the scientific evidence on COVID-19 vaccines to reach diverse geographic and socio-economic communities. The critical role of media framing strategies to engage and encourage large populations regarding vaccine acceptance has been rarely studied, despite growing evidence on vaccine hesitancy. The present study used a multi-method approach (i.e., content analysis and quasi-experiments) that unpacked the framing practices employed by the mainstream press media in Pakistan. The findings of the content analysis revealed that the media extensively used uncertainty, conflict, consequences, and action rather than new evidence and reassurance frames in its COVID-19 related campaigns. In a series of quasi-experiments involving 720 participants, we manipulated these six frames of COVID-19 related news coverage (i.e., uncertainty, conflict, consequences, action, new evidence, and reassurance) to investigate the underlying mechanism that influences vaccine acceptance. The findings established that the message-consistent effects of media frames manifesting fear (e.g., consequence and uncertainty) and action cues made receivers more supportive of vaccination. The present study findings theoretically address the calls for a more inclusive “community-health reporting model”, besides offering new evidence on the media framing strategies to deliver more targeted, meaningful, and effective campaigns to raise public acceptance for COVID-19 vaccines.

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Highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant sparks significant concern among global experts – What is known so far?

Cited by 86 publications

References 9 publications

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, salient features, high global health concerns and strategies to counter it amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, salient features, high global health concerns and strategies to counter it amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Relative Reproduction Number of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) Compared with Delta Variant in South Africa

Immunity debt or vaccination crisis? A multi-method evidence on vaccine acceptance and media framing for emerging COVID-19 variants

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