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World J Virol. May 25, 2022; 11(3): 137-143
Published online May 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i3.137
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529): A concern with immune escape
Adekunle Sanyaolu, Aleksandra Marinkovic, Stephanie Prakash, Nafees Haider, Martina Williams, Chuku Okorie, Olanrewaju Badaru, Stella Smith
Adekunle Sanyaolu, Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja 0000, Nigeria
Aleksandra Marinkovic, Stephanie Prakash, Martina Williams, Department of Basic Sciences, Saint James School of Medicine, The Valley 0000, Anguilla
Nafees Haider, Department of Basic Sciences, All Saints University School of Medicine, Roseau 0000, Dominica
Chuku Okorie, Department of Allied Sciences, Union County College, Plainfield, NJ 07060, United States
Olanrewaju Badaru, Department of Public Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Abuja 0000, Nigeria
Stella Smith, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos 100001, Nigeria
Author contributions: Sanyaolu A, Marinkovic A, Prakash S, Haider N, Williams M, Okorie C, Badaru O and Smith S contributed to the design, writing and final approval of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Adekunle Sanyaolu, PhD, Academic Research, Director, Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, New Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Ahmadu Bello Way, Central Business District, Abuja 0000, Nigeria. sanyakunle@hotmail.com
Received: December 28, 2021
Peer-review started: December 28, 2021
First decision: February 8, 2022
Revised: March 5, 2022
Accepted: April 21, 2022
Article in press: April 21, 2022
Published online: May 25, 2022
Processing time: 142 Days and 22.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529), was first reported to World Health Organization from South Africa on November 24, 2021. Omicron has been labeled a variant of concern because of genetic changes that increase transmissibility and decrease the effectiveness of health measures, vaccines, and therapeutics. This variant has 32 mutations in the spike protein, which is problematic because vaccinations designed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections target spike proteins. Despite some evidence that vaccination alone may not be enough, non-pharmaceutical practices such as continued use of face masks, proper hygiene precautions, and social distancing, are required to successfully combat this variant.