Expert: Omicron Mutation Unrelated To Delta

Illustration-(Photo: DOK ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The various types of variants of COVID-19 that exist today are the result of mutations of the corona virus itself. Some variants also have derivatives. In other words, the variant has children to grandchildren because it continues to mutate.

However, a microbiologist from the University of Indonesia, Amin Soebandrio, stated that the Omicron variant is different from the Delta variant, even though the spread of this virus has caused the number of COVID-19 cases to soar.

"What is happening with Omicron today, this Omicron is not a Delta derivative. There is absolutely no relationship," Amin said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, February 24.

Omicron and Delta, said the former head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, are indeed both derivatives of the early COVID-19 strain in Wuhan, China. However, the two are not on the same genetic line.

Because, Amin revealed that the Omicron variant had actually appeared a few months before November 2021, when the Delta variant was still spreading. In November, Omicron was designated as a new variant that first spread in South Africa.

"If we look at the genetic fellow, actually this Omicron appeared a few months before November, but it hasn't caused any problems. It was only in November that it spread in South Africa and was carried to other countries, immediately causing problems there," Amin explained.

After all, Amin said, Omicron's characteristics are different from Delta's. While Delta is more likely to cause severe symptoms in sufferers, people exposed to Omicron tend to have mild symptoms.

Omicron is also more contagious than other variants. While the previous viral variant was only able to replicate 1 to 2 viral mutations, Omicron had up to 50 mutations and 30 of them were in the spike protein region.