A blessing in disguise? Some scientists say omicron not so ominous

A new COVID-19 variant called omicron has put the world on notice, prompting nations to close borders and reinstate restrictions. While fear seems to prevail, not all are pessimistic.

Some scientists say this new mutation may be a blessing in disguise, our best chance to put an end to this devastating pandemic.

The theory goes like this: The virus, with 32 mutations on the spike protein alone, twice as many as delta, may have been optimized to infect, but not to kill. In essence, more like a flu. 

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)