Abstract
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a great threat to global public health. The original wild-type strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has genetically evolved, and several variants of concern (VOC) have emerged. On 26 November 2021, a new variant named Omicron (B.1.1.529) was designated as the fifth VOC, revealing that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to go beyond the available therapies. The high number of mutations harboured on the spike protein make Omicron highly transmissible, less responsive to several of the currently used drugs, as well as potentially able to escape immune protection elicited by both vaccines and previous infection. We reviewed the latest publication and the most recent available literature on the Omicron variant, enlightening both reasons for concern and high hopes for new therapeutic strategies.
Highlights
Overturn SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: AThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a great threat to global public health—more than 260 million confirmed cases have been reported, resulting in over 5 million deaths [1]
We reviewed the latest publication and the most recent available literature on the Omicron variant, enlightening both reasons for concern and high hopes for new therapeutic strategies
We review the latest publication and the most recent available literature on the Omicron variant
Summary
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a great threat to global public health—more than 260 million confirmed cases have been reported, resulting in over 5 million deaths [1]. The original wild-type strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), identified at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, has since genetically evolved, and several variants have emerged. On 26 November 2021, a new variant named Omicron (B.1.1.529) was designated the fifth VOC [2]. This new VOC harbours a significant number of mutations on the spike protein (S protein) and appears to be highly transmissible as well as potentially able to escape immune protection elicited by both vaccines and previous infection [2,3]. We review the latest publication and the most recent available literature on the Omicron variant.
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