If a new research is to be believed, Omicron is less harsh than earlier variants. It&nbsp;may also cause lesser&nbsp;damage to the lungs. &nbsp;&nbsp;

According to some latest studies, which have been carried out on lab animals and human tissues, the Omicron variant results in milder infection than other versions of the coronavirus. &nbsp;

Omicron produced less-damaging infections on mice and hamsters. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-directly-affects-kidneys-can-cause-tissue-scarring-claims-study-441104" hreflang="en">Covid directly affects kidneys, can cause tissue scarring, claims study</a>

It was often limited mainly to the upper airway, which is the nose, throat and windpipe.&nbsp;The other variants would many a time lead to scarring and serious breathing difficulty. &nbsp;

For over a month, more than a dozen research groups observed the new pathogen in the lab. &nbsp;

Numerous experiments, which have been made public in recent days, suggest that Omicron is milder than Delta and other variants of the coronavirus. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-identify-antibodies-that-block-omicron-covid-variant-440943" hreflang="en">Scientists identify antibodies that block Omicron Covid variant</a>

On Wednesday, a large consortium of Japanese and American scientists, released a report, which looked to witness&nbsp;effects of numerous kinds of variants, such as Omicron, Delta and others, on hamsters and mice. &nbsp;

The study found that the animals, who were infected with Omicron, were less likely to die and also witnessed reduction in weight loss along with lesser damage to lungs. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

If a new research is to be believed, Omicron is less harsh than earlier variants. It may also cause lesser damage to the lungs. According to some latest studies, which have been carried out on lab animals and human tissues, the Omicron variant results in milder infection than other versions of the coronavirus.

If a new research is to be believed, Omicron is less harsh than earlier variants. It may also cause lesser damage to the lungs. According to some latest studies, which have been carried out on lab animals and human tissues, the Omicron variant results in milder infection than other versions of the coronavirus. Omicron produced less-damaging infections on mice and hamsters. Also Read: Covid directly affects kidneys, can cause tissue scarring, claims study It was often limited mainly to the upper airway, which is the nose, throat and windpipe. The other variants would many a time lead to scarring and serious breathing difficulty. For over a month, more than a dozen research groups observed the new pathogen in the lab. Numerous experiments, which have been made public in recent days, suggest that Omicron is milder than Delta and other variants of the coronavirus. Also Read: Scientists identify antibodies that block Omicron Covid variant On Wednesday, a large consortium of Japanese and American scientists, released a report, which looked to witness effects of numerous kinds of variants, such as Omicron, Delta and others, on hamsters and mice. The study found that the animals, who were infected with Omicron, were less likely to die and also witnessed reduction in weight loss along with lesser damage to lungs. (With inputs from agencies)

Omicron less severe than other variants: Find out why?

Top health officials believe that although omicron infections produce milder illness but they warn the ongoing spread of delta and the rapid proliferation of Omicron could cause what they call a tsunami of infections which could overwhelm health care systems.

Covid News: Delta and Omicron variants can create 'Tsunami of Cases'

Covid crisis seems to be deepening around the world. For last two years, the pandemic has led to loss of several jobs, lives, etc. Numerous attempts have been made to find a solution but to no avail. &nbsp;

Beginning with lockdown, several governments have halted international travels, imposed curfews, tighten border controls, made quarantine centres, build makeshift hospitals, carried out vaccination drives and what not. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Several scientists have also been spending numerous hours to understand the virus in the search for a solution. &nbsp;

But every time, a new variant comes and the world goes back to square one. Till now, the world has seen several variants of concern, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. And now, its Omicron. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/neither-nu-nor-xi-who-skips-two-greek-letters-for-naming-new-covid-variant-omicron-432328">Neither Nu nor Xi: WHO skips two Greek letters for naming new Covid variant</a>

The variants have also emerged in different parts of the world, such as the UK, southern Africa, etc. &nbsp;

For last two years, masks have become the closest companions of the people. The craze has reached to the level of making it a fashion accessory. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Since the Covid started, these couple of years have been hard on many people as they forced people to restrict to homes, risk their lives in going out or understand the meaning of losing a loved one&nbsp;and not even being able to give a proper farewell. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The whole exercise seems to be a vicious circle as not everybody is following norms and the number of new cases never cease to exist. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/omicron-what-does-variant-of-concern-mean-432361" hreflang="en">Omicron: What does variant of concern mean?</a>

It seems only a mere reduction in the cases is just temporary and an indication that a new variant may crop up somewhere soon. The same has been happening unabated for last two years. &nbsp;

Every new variant has a high number of mutations, which makes it more deadly and transmissible. It also many a time makes the vaccine less effective. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The world has already witnessed several waves of infections. So, the question on several minds now is that will it ever get solved? &nbsp;

Well, this is a tough one and no one other than the future can decipher this deadly code.&nbsp;

Covid crisis seems to be deepening around the world. For last two years, the pandemic has led to loss of several jobs, lives, etc. Numerous attempts have been made to find a solution but to no avail.

Covid crisis seems to be deepening around the world. For last two years, the pandemic has led to loss of several jobs, lives, etc. Numerous attempts have been made to find a solution but to no avail. Beginning with lockdown, several governments have halted international travels, imposed curfews, tighten border controls, made quarantine centres, build makeshift hospitals, carried out vaccination drives and what not. Several scientists have also been spending numerous hours to understand the virus in the search for a solution. But every time, a new variant comes and the world goes back to square one. Till now, the world has seen several variants of concern, such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. And now, its Omicron. Also Read: Neither Nu nor Xi: WHO skips two Greek letters for naming new Covid variant The variants have also emerged in different parts of the world, such as the UK, southern Africa, etc. For last two years, masks have become the closest companions of the people. The craze has reached to the level of making it a fashion accessory. Since the Covid started, these couple of years have been hard on many people as they forced people to restrict to homes, risk their lives in going out or understand the meaning of losing a loved one and not even being able to give a proper farewell. The whole exercise seems to be a vicious circle as not everybody is following norms and the number of new cases never cease to exist. Also Read | Omicron: What does variant of concern mean? It seems only a mere reduction in the cases is just temporary and an indication that a new variant may crop up somewhere soon. The same has been happening unabated for last two years. Every new variant has a high number of mutations, which makes it more deadly and transmissible. It also many a time makes the vaccine less effective. The world has already witnessed several waves of infections. So, the question on several minds now is that will it ever get solved? Well, this is a tough one and no one other than the future can decipher this deadly code.

With emergence of new variants, will world get respite from Covid crisis ever?

The Delta variant of&nbsp;COVID-19 is a warning to the world to&nbsp;suppress&nbsp;the virus quickly&nbsp;before&nbsp;it mutates again into something even worse, the&nbsp;WHO&nbsp;said Friday.

The highly-transmissible variant, first detected in India, has now surfaced in 132 countries and territories, the World Health Organization said.

"Delta is a warning: it's a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to&nbsp;action&nbsp;that we need to move now&nbsp;before&nbsp;more dangerous&nbsp;variants&nbsp;emerge," the&nbsp;WHO's emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.

WHO&nbsp;chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added: "So far, four&nbsp;variants&nbsp;of concern have emerged -- and there will be more as long as the virus continues to spread."

Tedros said that on average, infections increased by 80 percent over the past four weeks in five of the six&nbsp;WHO&nbsp;regions.

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Though Delta has shaken many countries, Ryan said proven measures to bring transmission under control still worked -- notably physical distancing, wearing masks, hand hygiene and avoiding long periods indoors in poorly ventilated, busy places.

"They are stopping the Delta strain, especially when you add in vaccination," he said.

"The virus has got fitter, the virus has got faster. The game plan still works, but we need to implement and execute our game plan much more efficiently and much more effectively then we've ever done&nbsp;before."

Price of vaccine inequity

The UN health agency has consistently called for vaccines to be distributed evenly around the world and has branded the drastic imbalance a "moral outrage".

More than four billion doses of&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;vaccines have now been administered globally, according to an AFP count.

In countries categorised as high income by the World Bank, 98 doses per 100 people have been injected.

That figure drops to 1.6 per 100 in the 29 lowest-income countries.

If the four billion doses had been administered equally to people aged over 60, "we basically could have gotten two doses into everybody at highest risk of severe consequences when we got to a strain like Delta", said Bruce Aylward, the&nbsp;WHO's frontman on the Covax scheme which aims to get donor-funded jabs to poorer countries.

Instead, those nations, "in the face of the Delta variant -- they're going to pay a very, very different price as a result".

'No magical solutions'

The&nbsp;WHO&nbsp;wants every country to have vaccinated at least 10 percent of its population by the end of September; at least 40 percent by the end of this year, and 70 percent by the middle of 2022.&nbsp;

"We are a long way off achieving those targets," Tedros lamented.&nbsp;

He said that just over half of the 194&nbsp;WHO&nbsp;member states have fully vaccinated 10 percent of their population; less than a quarter have vaccinated 40 percent; and only three countries have vaccinated 70 percent.

Meanwhile the&nbsp;WHO&nbsp;says Burundi, Eritrea and North Korea are the only remaining member states yet to start&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;vaccination campaigns.

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 4.2 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, while nearly 196.6 million cases have been registered, according to tallies from official sources compiled by AFP.&nbsp;

Tedros said that on current rates of infection, the 200 million known infections mark will be surpassed within the next two weeks, although the true figure will be much higher.

"There are no magical solutions," said Ryan. "The only magic dust we have is vaccination. The problem is we're not sprinkling that evenly around the world and we are working against ourselves."

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is a warning to the world to suppress the virus quickly before it mutates again into something even worse, the WHO said Friday. The highly-transmissible variant, first detected in India, has now surfaced in 132 countries and territories, the World Health Organization said.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is a warning to the world to suppress the virus quickly before it mutates again into something even worse, the WHO said Friday. The highly-transmissible variant, first detected in India, has now surfaced in 132 countries and territories, the World Health Organization said. "Delta is a warning: it's a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to action that we need to move now before more dangerous variants emerge," the WHO's emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added: "So far, four variants of concern have emerged -- and there will be more as long as the virus continues to spread." Tedros said that on average, infections increased by 80 percent over the past four weeks in five of the six WHO regions. Also read | Tunisian presidency sacks head of national TV channel Though Delta has shaken many countries, Ryan said proven measures to bring transmission under control still worked -- notably physical distancing, wearing masks, hand hygiene and avoiding long periods indoors in poorly ventilated, busy places. "They are stopping the Delta strain, especially when you add in vaccination," he said. "The virus has got fitter, the virus has got faster. The game plan still works, but we need to implement and execute our game plan much more efficiently and much more effectively then we've ever done before." Price of vaccine inequity The UN health agency has consistently called for vaccines to be distributed evenly around the world and has branded the drastic imbalance a "moral outrage". More than four billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered globally, according to an AFP count. In countries categorised as high income by the World Bank, 98 doses per 100 people have been injected. That figure drops to 1.6 per 100 in the 29 lowest-income countries. If the four billion doses had been administered equally to people aged over 60, "we basically could have gotten two doses into everybody at highest risk of severe consequences when we got to a strain like Delta", said Bruce Aylward, the WHO's frontman on the Covax scheme which aims to get donor-funded jabs to poorer countries. Instead, those nations, "in the face of the Delta variant -- they're going to pay a very, very different price as a result". 'No magical solutions' The WHO wants every country to have vaccinated at least 10 percent of its population by the end of September; at least 40 percent by the end of this year, and 70 percent by the middle of 2022. "We are a long way off achieving those targets," Tedros lamented. He said that just over half of the 194 WHO member states have fully vaccinated 10 percent of their population; less than a quarter have vaccinated 40 percent; and only three countries have vaccinated 70 percent. Meanwhile the WHO says Burundi, Eritrea and North Korea are the only remaining member states yet to start COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The novel coronavirus has killed at least 4.2 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, while nearly 196.6 million cases have been registered, according to tallies from official sources compiled by AFP. Tedros said that on current rates of infection, the 200 million known infections mark will be surpassed within the next two weeks, although the true figure will be much higher. "There are no magical solutions," said Ryan. "The only magic dust we have is vaccination. The problem is we're not sprinkling that evenly around the world and we are working against ourselves."

WHO urges action to suppress COVID-19 before deadlier variants emerge

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday she was "very concerned" about the risk that new variants of coronavirus could pose to the global economic recovery from the pandemic.

"We are very concerned about the Delta variant and other variants that could emerge and threaten recovery," she told reporters following a G20 meeting in Venice, Italy.&nbsp;

"We are a connected global economy, what happens in any part of the world affects all other countries."

In their final statement issued late Saturday, G20 finance ministers warned that the spread of new variants was a "downside risk" to the economic recovery, while also warning of the dangers of differing paces of vaccination campaigns.

"We recognise the importance of working together to speed the process of vaccination and have the goal of wanting to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world's population next year," Yellen said.

She said "a lot has been done" to finance the purchase of vaccines by developing countries, but said the world needed to "do something more and to be more effective" with respect to responding to outbreaks around the world, such as sending therapeutics and protective equipment.

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The G20 on Friday heard from a specially commissioned panel of experts who warned the world must invest much more -- at least $75 billion over the next five years -- to prepare for and try to avert the next pandemic.

"While we're focused on the medium- and long-term... we certainly realise we also need to do more in the near term," Yellen said.

The World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Health Organization "have formed a taskforce to work on this and we've asked that we have regular monthly reports on how that work is going and that we address this issue more fully in October" at the G20 ministers' next meeting.

"But certainly variants represent a threat to the entire globe," Yellen said.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday she was "very concerned" about the risk that new variants of coronavirus could pose to the global economic recovery from the pandemic.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday she was "very concerned" about the risk that new variants of coronavirus could pose to the global economic recovery from the pandemic. "We are very concerned about the Delta variant and other variants that could emerge and threaten recovery," she told reporters following a G20 meeting in Venice, Italy. "We are a connected global economy, what happens in any part of the world affects all other countries." In their final statement issued late Saturday, G20 finance ministers warned that the spread of new variants was a "downside risk" to the economic recovery, while also warning of the dangers of differing paces of vaccination campaigns. "We recognise the importance of working together to speed the process of vaccination and have the goal of wanting to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world's population next year," Yellen said. She said "a lot has been done" to finance the purchase of vaccines by developing countries, but said the world needed to "do something more and to be more effective" with respect to responding to outbreaks around the world, such as sending therapeutics and protective equipment. Also read | 17 years after founding Virgin Galactic, Branson bound for space The G20 on Friday heard from a specially commissioned panel of experts who warned the world must invest much more -- at least $75 billion over the next five years -- to prepare for and try to avert the next pandemic. "While we're focused on the medium- and long-term... we certainly realise we also need to do more in the near term," Yellen said. The World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Health Organization "have formed a taskforce to work on this and we've asked that we have regular monthly reports on how that work is going and that we address this issue more fully in October" at the G20 ministers' next meeting. "But certainly variants represent a threat to the entire globe," Yellen said.

US 'very concerned' COVID-19 variants could risk recovery, says Yellen

The US is setting up a USD 1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave, the Biden administration announced on Friday.&nbsp;

White House officials unveiled a strategy that features three components: a major funding boost for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments to ramp up coronavirus gene-mapping; the creation of six 'centers of excellence' partnerships with universities to conduct research and develop technologies for gene-based surveillance of pathogens, and building a data system to better share and analyse information on emerging disease threats, so knowledge can be turned into action.&nbsp;

"Even as we accelerate our efforts to get shots into arms, more dangerous variants are growing, causing increases in cases in people without immunity," White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters. That 'requires us to intensify our efforts to quickly test for and find the genetic sequence of the virus as it spreads.'&nbsp;

The new effort relies on money approved by Congress as part of President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief package to break what experts say is a feast-or-famine cycle in US preparedness for disease threats. The coronavirus is only one example. Other pathogens have included Ebola and Zika, and respiratory viruses like SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, which did not become major problems in the United States.&nbsp;

Typically, the government scrambles to counter a potential threat, but funding dries up when it recedes. The new genomic surveillance initiative aims to create a permanent infrastructure.&nbsp;

“It's a transformative amount of money," Mary Lee Watts, federal affairs director at the American Society for Microbiology, said in a recent interview. 'It has the potential not only to get ahead of the current crisis, but it is going to help us in the future. This is a programme that has been underfunded for years.'&nbsp;

The Biden administration's move comes as a variant known as B117, which first emerged in the United Kingdom, has become the predominant strain in the U.S. In hard-hit Michigan, the more transmissible mutation accounts for more than half the cases, according to CDC data. That's also the case in Minnesota. Vaccines are effective against the so-called U.K. Variant, but other mutations circulating around the globe have shown resistance to currently available vaccines.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The US is setting up a USD 1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave, the Biden administration announced on Friday.

The US is setting up a USD 1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave, the Biden administration announced on Friday. White House officials unveiled a strategy that features three components: a major funding boost for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments to ramp up coronavirus gene-mapping; the creation of six 'centers of excellence' partnerships with universities to conduct research and develop technologies for gene-based surveillance of pathogens, and building a data system to better share and analyse information on emerging disease threats, so knowledge can be turned into action. "Even as we accelerate our efforts to get shots into arms, more dangerous variants are growing, causing increases in cases in people without immunity," White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters. That 'requires us to intensify our efforts to quickly test for and find the genetic sequence of the virus as it spreads.' The new effort relies on money approved by Congress as part of President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief package to break what experts say is a feast-or-famine cycle in US preparedness for disease threats. The coronavirus is only one example. Other pathogens have included Ebola and Zika, and respiratory viruses like SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, which did not become major problems in the United States. Typically, the government scrambles to counter a potential threat, but funding dries up when it recedes. The new genomic surveillance initiative aims to create a permanent infrastructure. “It's a transformative amount of money," Mary Lee Watts, federal affairs director at the American Society for Microbiology, said in a recent interview. 'It has the potential not only to get ahead of the current crisis, but it is going to help us in the future. This is a programme that has been underfunded for years.' The Biden administration's move comes as a variant known as B117, which first emerged in the United Kingdom, has become the predominant strain in the U.S. In hard-hit Michigan, the more transmissible mutation accounts for more than half the cases, according to CDC data. That's also the case in Minnesota. Vaccines are effective against the so-called U.K. Variant, but other mutations circulating around the globe have shown resistance to currently available vaccines. (With inputs from agencies)

US setting up $1.7B national network to track virus variants 

The spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which enables it to infect human cells, is more stable in faster spreading versions of the virus, such as the ones first reported in the UK and South Africa, compared to the original form of the pathogen from Wuhan, China, says a new study.&nbsp;

Researchers, including those from the Boston Children's Hospital in the US assessed the structure of the coronavirus spike protein down to the atomic level, and found how it changed with the D614G mutation, which is carried by the Brazil, South Africa and UK variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.&nbsp;

The results, published in the journal Science, showed that the mutation makes the spike more stable as compared with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus from Wuhan, enabling the variants to spread more quickly.&nbsp;

According to the scientists, the spike proteins in the original virus would bind to the ACE2 receptor on human cells, and then dramatically change shape, folding in on themselves and enabling the virus to fuse its membrane with host cells.&nbsp;

However, they said the spikes would sometimes prematurely change shape and fall apart before the virus could bind to cells.&nbsp;

While this slowed the virus down, the researchers said this shape change also made it harder for the human immune system to contain the virus.&nbsp;

"Because the original spike protein would dissociate, it was not good enough to induce a strong neutralising antibody response," said study co-author Bing Chen from the Boston Children's Hospital.&nbsp;

In the variant forms, the scientists said the mutation stabilises the spike by blocking the premature shape change and making the spikes bind weaklier to the ACE2 receptor.&nbsp;

According to the researchers, since these spikes are less apt to fall apart prematurely, the virus overall is rendered more infectious.&nbsp;

"Say the original virus has 100 spikes. Because of the shape instability, you may have just 50 per cent of them functional. In the G614 variants, you may have 90 per cent that are functional, so even though they don't bind as well, the chances are greater that you will have infection," Chen explained.&nbsp;

Based on the findings, the scientists suggested that redesigned vaccines incorporate the code for this mutant spike protein.&nbsp;

They believe more stable spike shapes could make vaccines based on these virus proteins more likely to elicit protective neutralising antibodies. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which enables it to infect human cells, is more stable in faster spreading versions of the virus, such as the ones first reported in the UK and South Africa, compared to the original form of the pathogen from Wuhan, China, says a new study.

The spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which enables it to infect human cells, is more stable in faster spreading versions of the virus, such as the ones first reported in the UK and South Africa, compared to the original form of the pathogen from Wuhan, China, says a new study. Researchers, including those from the Boston Children's Hospital in the US assessed the structure of the coronavirus spike protein down to the atomic level, and found how it changed with the D614G mutation, which is carried by the Brazil, South Africa and UK variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results, published in the journal Science, showed that the mutation makes the spike more stable as compared with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus from Wuhan, enabling the variants to spread more quickly. According to the scientists, the spike proteins in the original virus would bind to the ACE2 receptor on human cells, and then dramatically change shape, folding in on themselves and enabling the virus to fuse its membrane with host cells. However, they said the spikes would sometimes prematurely change shape and fall apart before the virus could bind to cells. While this slowed the virus down, the researchers said this shape change also made it harder for the human immune system to contain the virus. "Because the original spike protein would dissociate, it was not good enough to induce a strong neutralising antibody response," said study co-author Bing Chen from the Boston Children's Hospital. In the variant forms, the scientists said the mutation stabilises the spike by blocking the premature shape change and making the spikes bind weaklier to the ACE2 receptor. According to the researchers, since these spikes are less apt to fall apart prematurely, the virus overall is rendered more infectious. "Say the original virus has 100 spikes. Because of the shape instability, you may have just 50 per cent of them functional. In the G614 variants, you may have 90 per cent that are functional, so even though they don't bind as well, the chances are greater that you will have infection," Chen explained. Based on the findings, the scientists suggested that redesigned vaccines incorporate the code for this mutant spike protein. They believe more stable spike shapes could make vaccines based on these virus proteins more likely to elicit protective neutralising antibodies. (With inputs from agencies)

Sturdier protein may have led to some coronavirus variants' faster spread: Scientists 

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