Since November 2021, the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has quickly become the most dominant variant worldwide. Early sequencing of Omicron in South Africa alerted researchers to the possibility that Omicron could be a cause for concern due to extensive mutations of the spike protein. Omicron has 30 mutations of the […]
The BA.2 Omicron lineage was estimated to be 23.1% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of March 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday. Scientists are tracking a rise in cases caused by BA.2, which is spreading rapidly in parts […]
While two monoclonal antibody combinations showed neutralizing activity against the Omicron subvariant BA.2, both required substantially higher concentrations to produce a response in patients with COVID-19, Japanese researchers said, while antivirals appeared to be less affected. Casirivimab/imdevimab (REGEN-COV) and tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld) inhibited BA.2, but the titer of monoclonal antibodies “required […]
