A new study has partially uncovered a major characteristic about Omicron previously unknown to scientists, however, it’s not all good news.
from the LKS Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong found that the virus multiplies faster in the bronchus than the lungs.Omicron infects and multiples 70 times faster
Researchers said this may suggest why Omicron “transmits faster between humans than previous variants,” while also boasting “lower disease severity”. Despite this, the study also states the severity of the virus is dependent of the host’s immune response, said Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Principal Investigator, Dr Michael Chan Chi-wai.
Scientists said this was because Omicron’s highly-mutated spike protein was better at binding to human cells, which then infects the host with Covid.“In addition, we find Omicron pseudovirus is significantly more infectious than any other variant tested,” read the abstract of the study.
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