I've not come across anything much in the medical or scientific press or heard anything via my wife's medical grapevine about the Omicron version - other than its been identified and, at first glance, seems to have a number of mutations that give it different characteristics. However I know all about it, from its birthday to its shoe size and how its going to slash and burn its way across the planet leaving only death and misery in its wake, from the popular press. And the more popular the press the more speculative and sensationalist the reporting - exactly as usual!

I have no doubt there are a number of laboratories taking it to bits as I type this, and that in due course some actual information about it will be available, but for the moment it's all not far off guesswork. As Tim mentioned, it's in the nature of viruses to mutate so it's not surprising that new versions pop up from time to time. What we see are the few that prove to be viable. The many many mutations that don't give any survival value vanish without even being noticed. It's a jungle down there at cellular level and the virus is in a fight to the, well, not quite death as it's still a matter of debate whether they qualify as alive, but survival anyway. We're just collateral damage. The virus won't even know we exist.