the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the emergence of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant in southern Africa has vaccine manufacturers discussing vaccine effectiveness and the possibility of updating vaccines to make them variant-specific. Omicron has around 50 mutations, and more than 30 of the mutations are located on the viral spike protein that is responsible for entry into host cells. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein also is one of the primary antibody targets for the immune system. According to some analysis, most of the antibody target sites on Omicron’s spike protein are mutated, and several of those differences could indicate that Omicron is capable of escaping current vaccine formulations. A subset of Omicron’s spike mutations have been previously reported in the Beta and Delta variants, but 26 spike mutations are believed to be unique. Scientists are anticipating a decrease in antibody neutralization of the virus, and doctors in South Africa are reporting reinfections in patients who have already recovered from COVID-19.
