The Algorithm that Mapped Omicron: With Antigenic Maps, Vaccines Can Evolve with COVID-19 Variants

When Omicron, the now ubiquitous COVID-19 variant, first emerged in South Africa in November, scientists were immediately worried. Genetic sequencing showed that Omicron boasted dozens of mutations in key regions of its genetic code—about four times as many as previous variants. Still, they did not know how much Omicron differed physically, not just genetically, from previous variants. That's crucial information in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It's the physical changes—alterations in how a virus looks and functions—that enable such a pathogen to cause infections by evading the immune systems of people vaccinated or infected with prior strains.