In the News
Dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, experts are tracking the spread of the Omicron variant, and there are many unanswered questions. Is it more transmissible than previous COVID-19 strains? Does it affect children more severely? According to The New York Times, the Omicron variant is particularly concerning because it has an “unusually high number of mutations” — more than 30 in total. “When a virus gets into the cells of a patient, it begins to make copies of itself,” said Kristina Deeter, M.D., a pediatric intensivist and specialty medical officer for pediatric critical care medicine at Pediatrix® Medical Group. “There can be ‘mistakes’ in the RNA copies that it makes of itself, and these new mutated copies can then be spread to other people.”
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