Thread by @erincandy

We are all fucked if omicron keeps mutating. Omicron BA2 already has 4/9 of these worst case scenario spike protein mutations. 600 fold increase. It’s not fear mongering it’s realism and this isn’t becoming an endemic with antivaxxers existing. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

These are the most worrying spike protein mutations. Omicron is mutating to survive and infect as many people as possible. Get boosted. Get your love ones boosted. Hope that the omicron specific boosters are ready sooner than later.

I’m thankful for my psych degree and stats classes to be able to interpret these studies and learn how the mutations of COVID are learning to attach better to humans, evade antibodies and spread faster. Its highly adaptive. BA2 is reinfecting people within weeks of BA1.

That means there is no natural immunity between omicron sub-variants? It’s still too early to tell if boosters can slow down transmission or reinfection. We didn’t vaccinate the global population fast enough or stop airborne transmission quick enough. I hope it’s not too late

Omicron #BA2 is by far the most worrying variant by far. It has the worst parts of alpha beta and delta mixed with omicron

It’s time to accept there is no going back to the old normal. Eventually COVID‐19 will mutate to the point of no return and evade antibodies and become 600 fold more transmissible if left to spread through unvaccinated populations. You can’t let it rip and hope for endemicity.

The whole world should be screaming about omicron BA2

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1485354857339011080

This study predicted the inevitable emergence of omicron variant 11 months ago. Think about that. We have to believe that further mutations will inevitably lead to the variant with the 600 fold increase 9 spike protein mutation. I don’t know what happens then

I’m no virologist, I studied statistical research and epidemiology of pandemics in my history and psychology degrees and bio chemistry but I have only just started teaching myself about virus epistemology and mutations in coronaviruses during biological evolution

And from what I’ve read about the COVID 19 variants and their specific mutations is that the variants of concern that seem to thrive and outcompete are the ones that bind to human ACE receptors better, evade antibodies and are more transmissible. Delta/omicron show it’s learning

It’s picking up mutations quicker than the current genome sequencing can even begin to make sense of in time because the virus is being left to spread through huge populations of unvaccinated and immunocompromised. Leaders globally have failed to listen to virologists in time

We can pretend things are going back to normal and ignore reality but the virus doesn’t care. Omicron doesn’t care about your politics. Humanity fucked around and we’re about to find out what it’s cost us.