OrbitalATK t1_iu8fj50 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:00 AM

Reply to comment by WSL_subreddit_mod in 'Scrabble variants' now cause the majority of new Covid-19 infections in the US | CNN by BigfootDynamite

Take a look at the original SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron variant, where are most of the mutations?

WSL_subreddit_mod t1_iu8j3u1 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:45 AM

The current mutations are derived from and still considered to be the Omicron variant.

I guess the issue I took with your comment was that you made it under an article about the current mutations, and that is the context under which it is read.

OrbitalATK t1_iu8u5hp wrote on October 29, 2022 at 1:34 PM

Even comparing Omicron (BA.5) to the current variants (BQ.1 and BQ.1.1), where are the mutations occurring?

OrbitalATK t1_iub0shj wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:12 PM

I guess I'll answer it, and not surprisingly, the answer is the spike protein. I wonder why.

> BQ.1* is a sublineage of BA.5, which carries spike mutations in some key antigenic sites, including K444T and N460K. In addition to these mutations, the sublineage BQ.1.1 carries an additional spike mutation in a key antigenic site (i.e. R346T).

https://www.who.int/news/item/27-10-2022-tag-ve-statement-on-omicron-sublineages-bq.1-and-xbb