Omicron at 100% Prevalence, Colorado

Re:Omicron at 100% Prevalence, Colorado by codeulike on Thursday January 06, 2022 @05:01AM (#29821547)

But we're seeing evidence that Omicron provides some immunity from the more dangerous strains like Delta.

If we're worried about Omicron mutating to become more deadly, why aren't we worried about the other human coronaviruses doing the same? 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1 that have been around for ages?

There's nothing magic about Omicron, its just a repsiratory virus thats relatively new to humans so there's not so much population immunity. And looks like we're rapidly getting exposed to it, so its about to lose its advantage.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Omicron at 100% Prevalence, Colorado by sroussey on Thursday January 06, 2022 @11:28AM (#29825646)

> 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1 that have been around for ages

They can only insert themselves into specific cells (acidic ones in lungs, nose, throat, stomach) and thus are respiratory viruses.

SARS-Cov-2 can insert into most cells of your body and loves the organs like the heart, brain, testes, lungs, etc.

It is airborne like a cold but can damage your brain and heart where a cold cannot.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Omicron at 100% Prevalence, Colorado by codeulike on Friday January 07, 2022 @04:53AM (#29837206)

I'm not sure its that different. For example NL63 binds to ACE2 just like covid. Its just less damaging.

Many viruses can attack multiple organs in the body if the infection is bad enough and the viral load is big enough to spread that far - e.g. see https://www.healthline.com/health/viremia

[ Parent | on HN ]