Thread by @StavKislev

A tiny thread about the new Omicron Variant (with lots of cool images):

TL/DR - It's way too early to panic. There are some good reasons for the health authorities to be alarmed, but it's too early for the general public to start writing wills. We should wait&see what's going on

So, what gives?

The SARS-COV-2 has distinct bulges in its outer membrane (shown in red). These bulges are made of a protein called 'Spike' (or S for short), and they're critical for the virus since they mediate the cellular entry (basically responsible for infecting us).

That's why our COVID vaccines, and lots of other therapies, were designed to attack those bulges - the spike protein.

Truth be told, the vaccines work like a charm, presenting an efficacy of ~95%.

The problem is the Spike protein changes over time. It results from the inevitable viral evolution: every time the virus infects a person, it also changes a little (gaining new mutations). Most of those changes are harmful to the virus, but every now and then >

a 'positive' mutation shows up, unfortunately helping the virus thrive and prosper. That's how we get lots and lots of new Spike 'versions' (or colors in this case).

Over the past couple of years, a small number of problematic variants appeared, each containing a few unique mutations. Some made the variant a bit more transmissible, others made it extra virulent (i.e. increase disease severity), and some allowed it to escape our immune system.

Let me rephrase, some allowed the virus to **partly** escape our immune system.

One of the reasons they were capable of doing so, is the location of mutations WITHIN the Spike protein, and more specifically, in the Spike's tip.

The Spike's end is the most vulnerable area of the protein, since this region is *actually* responsible for infecting our cells. BTW, this region is also called the "RBD" domain.

Anyways, while previous dangerous variants had 2-3 RBD mutations, Omicron has 15.

This gap is dramatic, and when you take into account that it *might* be even more infectious than previous variants, it raises a red flag.

Then how can I say that it's too early for the general public to start panicking?

Well, it's because the evidence regarding this variant is extremely rudimentary. We're still not sure if it *truly* is more infectious than the Delta variant, and just *how* effective >

the vaccines really are (it is certain that they do protect us, but we just don't know *how much*.. probably a lot).

At the end of the day, vaccines are real game-changers. As infections as the variant may be, or as violent, or as sneaky - vaccines are our ticket home. That's how we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from this virus.

If it'll turn out that the vaccine-efficacy decreases due to the variant mutations, all we'll have to do is get a single Omicron-adapted booster shot (just like a regular booster). The vaccine adaptation will take approximately 3 months, based on what the manufacturers proclaimed

So to sum up, it's great that the health authorities are taking this variant seriously. It really is. The evidence shows that we're dealing with an extra-transmissible and HIGHLY mutated strain.

That being said, we should put it aside for now, and let the experts do their thing.

Meanwhile, our lives continue, and we can all get back to what really matters: How adorable is Katy Perry in American Idol?