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Previous research suggested a similar number were still suffering this deceptively unpleasant symptom six months after recovering from their initial illness. But the newly published findings indicate that, in a significant minority, it may endure even longer.
The researchers compared the Omicron variant to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as the Beta and Delta variants. The Beta and Delta variants have mutations that help them evade class 1 and 2 antibodies, but not class 3 and 4. Omicron, on the other hand, has mutations that affect the binding of
So far Omicron has spread to more than 120 countries, outpacing the previous Delta variant to become the dominant one. While it has surged infections in many countries, the infections are generally touted as mild, leading to less hospitalisation as well as deaths compared to Delta.
Unfortunately, immunity wanes over time – people lose half their immunity every 3 months. Further, new variants continue to emerge that are partially resistant to key immune responses – antibodies that neutralise earlier strains – this is especially true of Omicron.
While on one hand, there's no transparent path of transmission linking Omicron to its predecessors, on the other, the variant has an unusual array of mutations, which evolved entirely outside the view of researchers, Nature reported.