The World Health Organization announced Wednesday there’s a new hybrid COVID-19 variant that combines the delta variant and the omicron variant — but not much is known about severity or symptoms.
What they found: Researchers said in a new study published on MedRxiv — ahead of peer review — that there’s a new “deltacron” variant that combines the spike protein of omicron with the “body” of the delta variant, per Reuters.
What they’re saying: Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, said at a press conference Wednesday “there are very low levels of detection” of the “deltacron” variant, so there shouldn’t be much concern yet, according to USA Today.
- William Lee, the chief science officer at Helix, told USA Today that “deltacron” cases are so low that there’s no reason to label it a variant of concern.
Symptoms and severity: The United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency is still monitoring the hybrid variant after its discovery.
- Per NDTV, there has been no information about the infectiousness or severity of “deltacron.”
- No information has been released on “deltacron” symptoms, either.
What’s next: Kerkhove said during the Wednesday press conference that researchers will monitor the new “deltacron” variant for “any change in the epidemiology.”
- She added, “We haven’t seen any change in severity. But there are many studies that are underway.”