Omicron vs. Delta COVID-19: What Makes These 2 Variants Different?

Scientists worldwide are working to comprehend the Omicron variant of COVID-19. This version sparked widespread concern as World Health Organization (WHO) classified this as a Variant of Concern. While the Omicron could be more hazardous than others, the Delta variety created havoc in various countries earlier this year.

The WHO stated that it is working with several researchers worldwide to understand better how the new variety would affect the Covid-19 epidemic, with additional discoveries due in the coming "days and weeks." Scientists keep a careful eye on whether instances produced by the Omicron variation start to displace those caused by Delta in public databases.

Here is the difference between Delta and Omicron COVID-19 variants.

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Delta COVID-19 Variant Explained

The Delta COVID variant's symptoms are similar to those of the alpha COVID strain (B.1.1.7). However, it causes more cold-like symptoms.

"Headache, sore throat, runny nose, and fever are [presently] based on the most recent surveys in the U.K., where more than 90% of the cases are due to the delta strain," Dr. Inci Yildirim told NBC Chicago. Yildirim is a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist.

According to Yale Medicine experts, the Delta COVID-19 variant is 50 percent more infectious than the Alpha COVID-19 version, implying that each COVID-positive individual might potentially infect a much larger number of individuals.

Experts said they don't know how the Omicron variant compares in terms of spreading capabilities.

Omicron COVID-19 Variant

Doctors in South Africa, who initially raised the alarm about the new strain, described COVID-19 symptoms connected to the omicron form as "very mild."

The majority of new cases in South Africa have been among adults in their 20s and 30s, and physicians remark that this age group has lower COVID-19 symptoms in general.

They do caution, however, that elderly persons who get infected with the new strain may experience more severe symptoms.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, said she began seeing patients with "strange symptoms" around November 18 that differed somewhat from those linked with the delta variation, which is the virus's most lethal strain to date and the most prevalent internationally.

"It actually started with a male patient who's around the age of 33 ... and he said to me that he's just [been] extremely tired for the past few days and he's got these body aches and pains with a bit of a headache," she told the BBC.

She added the patient didn't have a painful throat, but rather a "scratchy throat" with no cough or loss of taste or smell, which have been associated with prior coronavirus strains.

Other patients with the omicron form she had encountered thus far had likewise reported "very modest" symptoms, and she added that her colleagues had observed comparable cases.

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Is Omicron Variant Worse than Delta?

It's too early to tell right now. According to the Republic of South Africa's Department of Health (via CNet), the Omicron variant contains several mutations in its spike protein comparable to the delta variation and the alpha, gamma, and beta variants - all of which are designated as variants of concern by the WHO.

It indicates that Omicron will be highly transmissible, allowing the virus to bypass antibodies more readily, reducing vaccination effectiveness against symptomatic illness (however, as with the delta version, scientists predict immunizations to remain protective against severe COVID-19). According to South African scientists, Omicron may cause more incidences of COVID-19 reinfection in those who have already been infected.

Omicron contains more mutations on its spike protein than the delta version, although it's unclear if this means anything.

"What all those changes in the aggregate are going to do for the things that matter for this virus, we don't really know yet," Robert Garry, a virologist at Tulane University, told CNN.