Duelling Variants: Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 - A Fight to the Finish?

Snigdha Goyal

Abstract: Since the emergence of SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, in 2019, it has caused over 300 million cases and 5.5 million deaths. SARS-CoV-2 is an envelope, positive sense, single stranded RNA virus having approximately 30, 000 nucleotides. The initial virus that spread globally was characterized by a D614G change in the spike (S) protein. Within an year multiple variants emerged with several mutations in the spike protein across multiple countries - United Kingdom (Alpha), South Africa (Beta), and Brazil (Gamma). In April 2021, the Delta variant emerged- initially in India, and rapidly replaced Alpha globally over next few months.

Keywords: Variant, COVID-19, Corona virus, Pandemic, SARS