New COVID-19 variant Deltacron emerges in Cyprus. All you need to know

The latest SARS-CoV-2 variant that has Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes, may not, however, pose a serious threat. According to various media reports, experts believe it is not a cause of concern as yet, especially given the fact that researchers are yet to find out if it is more pathological or contagious, or if it will prevail.

Moneycontrol News

January 09, 2022 / 19:01 IST

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Researchers have detected a new coronavirus strain that combines traits of both the Delta variant and the Omicron variant.

The new COVID-19 strain that was detected in Cyprus has been dubbed ‘Deltacron’ by Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences and head of Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology at the University of Cyprus.

In an interview with Sigma TV, Kostrikis said: “There are currently omicron and delta co-infections, and we found this strain that is a combination of these two. The discovery was named Deltacron due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes.”For live updates on coronavirus situation, click here

The latest SARS-CoV-2 variant that has Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes, may not, however, pose a serious threat. According to various media reports, experts believe it is not a cause of concern as yet, especially given the fact that researchers are yet to find out if it is more pathological or contagious, or if it will prevail.

Some have even opined that the Deltacron strain is not a real variant of SARS-CoV-2 at all. Virologist Tom Peacock wrote on social media: “So when new variants come through sequencing lab, contamination isn't that uncommon (very very tiny volumes of liquid can cause this) - just usually these fairly clearly contaminated sequences are not reported by major media outlets.”

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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