The presence of a large number of mutations, and more than 30 on its spike protein makes antibodies ineffective against the Omicron variant of Covid-19, shows a study.
New study claims Omicron can survive 8 days on plastic, 21 hours on skin - Further, the team found that Omicron can survive 193.5 hours (about 8 days) on a plastic (polystyrene) surface.
Omicron survived 21.1 hours on skin model from cadavers, followed by the Wuhan virus (8.6 hours), the Gamma (11 hours) and Delta (16.8 hours) variant. The survival of Alpha (19.6 hours) and Beta (19.1 hours) was found to be similar.
An international team of scientists has determined the precise structural changes in the spike protein of the Omicron variant. Their observations explain how the virus is able to evade antibodies against previous variants and still remain highly infectious. "The findings provide a blueprint that researchers can use to design new countermeasures, whether they be vaccines or