Why the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has scientists on alert. And how Canada is responding to it

Almost one year after the emergence of the first coronavirus variants rewrote the rules on dealing with the pandemic, scientists around the world are sounding the alarm about what looks to be yet another ominous development. A key question for Canada is whether strategies that scientists

“We know for a fact that this variant will be more difficult to neutralize,” said Marc-André Langlois, a molecular virologist at the University of Ottawa who leads the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network . While the variant has not yet been spotted in Canada, it could turn up in genomic surveillance conducted by provincial and regional public-health labs. The surveillance requires sequencing and analyzing the viral RNA extracted from positive cases of COVID-19 in order to obtain the precise lineage of the virus behind each infection.

The worry among health officials is that Omicron will prove to be significantly more transmissible than Delta – a prospect that is indicated by initial data from Africa and elsewhere. Earlier this year, Delta’s higher rate of transmission enabled it to outcompete and all but wipe out other forms of the coronavirus in Canada. During the summer and early fall, it tore through the remaining unvaccinated population and likely contributed to a rise in breakthrough cases seen among the vaccinated.

Is this an ad for boosters?

Media doing whatever they can to distract from the Ghislaine Maxwell/ Epstein trial starting Monday

No more shutdowns

Shouldn't the 5th wave be called Gamma so we would have a 5G variant?

Banning travel from 6 African countries is hardly a response! Canada OmicronVariant

More CERB 🤑🤑🤑

We’re done ✅

Fear porn

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