Deltacron the new coronavirus variant has been detected in several countries. Credit: AMNADeltacron, a hybrid of delta and omicron, is the new coronavirus variant detected in mid-February. There are now over 60 logged, across Cyprus, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, the US and the UK. Will deltacron displace omicron? Will the variant be any better at evading immunity? and will it cause a more severe disease?
By Luke O’Neill
In many countries, as restrictions lift and freedoms are restored, there’s a general feeling that the pandemic is over. There is, however, still the significant concern that a dangerous new variant could emerge.
This happened when omicron arrived, but we got lucky with that one. Omicron turned out to be more transmissible, but mercifully it hasn’t caused an increase in severe disease in most countries where it is dominant.
But this wasn’t guaranteed. Variants crop up randomly, and new ones have the potential to be more dangerous than previous ones. Another has just arrived, and is currently going by the name deltacron. It is – as you can probably guess – a hybrid of delta and omicron, the two variants dominant most recently.
