Omicron Is WHO’s Fifth Variant of Concern, Experts Urge Patience

Preliminary data suggest that the newly dubbed Omicron variant may be more infectious than previous versions of the virus, but it will take time to obtain the reliable data needed to answer pressing questions about its biology.

Written byDan Robitzski

| 4 min read

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Artist’s renderings of SARS-CoV-2 float in front of a map showing the origins of various variants of the virus.

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 was recently identified by scientists in South Africa.

Image credit:MODIFIED FROM © ISTOCK.COM, CROCOTHERY

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On Tuesday, November 23, scientists in South Africa alerted the world to a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Officially named the B.1.1.529 variant, it has been dubbed Omicron as part of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Greek naming system, and has put health officials and researchers around the world on high alert as they make sense of its potential implications for the ongoing global pandemic.

In addition to South Africa, the new variant has been detected in at least 15 countries in Africa, Europe, and North America, according to CNN, prompting myriad restrictions on international travel. The variant is likely already present in additional countries, including the United States, The Wall Street Journal reports.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus describes the Omicron variant as “perilous and precarious,” according to Reuters. It’s too soon to tell whether Omicron will continue to spread internationally or if it will ...

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Meet the Author

Dan Robitzski
Dan is an award-winning journalist based in Los Angeles who joined The Scientist as a reporter and editor in 2021. Ironically, Dan’s undergraduate degree and brief career in neuroscience inspired him to write about research rather than conduct it, culminating in him earning a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University in 2017. In 2018, an Undark feature Dan and colleagues began at NYU on a questionable drug approval decision at the FDA won first place in the student category of the Association of Health Care Journalists' Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Now, Dan writes and edits stories on all aspects of the life sciences for the online news desk, and he oversees the “The Literature” and “Modus Operandi” sections of the monthly TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. Read more of his work at danrobitzski.com.
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