Word of what’s being called a “highly-mutated” variant of the coronavirus was enough to roil financial markets early Friday.
Dow futures were off by as much as 800 points before trading officially began, with concerns about an exponential spike in cases from South Africa this holiday week.
The natural or wild form of COVID-19 dominated the coronavirus picture last year before variants became more prevalent this year — first the alpha variant early this year, with the delta variant taking over by late spring. Since mid-June, delta has literally been the only game in town — and Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern says it’s due to “survival of the fittest.”
Millbern says virus mutations are commonplace, which emphasizes the need for vaccinations to limit the spread.
The new variant, designated by the World Health Organization Friday as the Omicron variant, was first discovered in South Africa and has reportedly led to a major spike in the country’s most populous province, Gauteng. ABC News reports that the province saw a recent spike that increased the country’s daily new case total rise from 200 per day to just over 2,400 by Thursday.
Scientists say the new variant has a significant level of mutations from other variants — roughly 30 — with Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, referring to it as the “most heavily mutated version of the virus” to date. The high level of mutation within the virus could increase its transmissibility amongst individuals making it easier to contract the virus.
In a recent interview with CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that there has been a confirmed case of the variant in Europe, however, there is no evidence that indicates the variant has made its way into the United States at this time.
