For Omicron Or Other Variants, Contingency Plans Exist — And They Shouldn't Take Long To Execute.

Arlington TX

01 December, 2021

7:20 PM

Description

By Alexis Allison, Fort Worth Report December 1, 2021 Almost a week after omicron, the new coronavirus variant, emerged as a variant of concern, scientists around the world don't yet know the extent of its threat. Answers to basic questions about the variant — if it's more transmissible than others like delta, if it causes more severe disease, or how responsive it is to current vaccines — may be about two weeks away. "We're going to be at the mercy of time," said Katelyn Jetelina, a Dallas-based infectious disease epidemiologist with UTHealth School of Public Health. Jetelina also writes the blog Your Local Epidemiologist. The omicron variant, first identified in Botswana in early November, has several mutations on its spike protein — the "key" with which the virus attaches to human cells, she said. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.