COVID-19 vaccine coverage and the necessity of its urgent development towards Omicron the new SARS CoV-2 B.1.1. 529 variant
Department of Pharmacy, Al-Esraa University College, Baghdad/Iraq.
Review Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2021, 17(03), 058–060.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2021.17.3.0350
Publication history:
Received on 01 November 2021; revised on 10 December 2021; accepted on 12 December 2021
Abstract:
A SARS-CoV-2 variant belonging to Pango lineage B.1.1.529 with a significant number of S-gene mutations compared to the original virus was found in early November 2021. On 26th November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the mutation as a variant of concern and assigned it the name Omicron. The difference is identified by 30 changes in the spike protein, three minor deletions, and one minor insertion, 15 of which are in the receptor-binding area. The Omicron variant is the most diverging variety discovered in substantial numbers so far during the pandemic, raising significant concerns that it may be associated with significant reductions in vaccination efficacy and an increased risk of reinfections. Omicron pseudo- or live virus isolates are urgently needed to understand better the virus's escape potential against both vaccination, and infection-acquired immunity is urgently required.
Keywords:
Omicron; SARS CoV-2 B.1.1. 529 variant; COVID-19; Vaccine
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Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
