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The new Omicron COVID-19 variant has managed to dominate headlines and much of the American consciousness over the past week despite the strain not even having been detected in the U.S. yet. 

The variant was first discovered last week in South Africa, and is believed to have originated in Botswana.

It has more than 50 mutations, including more than 30 on its spike protein, leading some to believe it could be vaccine evasive. 

Experts tell DailyMail.com that it is too early for Americans to worry about the variant just yet, though they should still take basic Covid precautions, mainly to protect themselves from the predominant Delta variant.

An expert tells DailyMail.com that Americans do not have to worry much about the new Omicron Covid variant yet, but they should still take some precautions to protect themselves from the Delta strain. Pictured: A man wears a mask at an airport in Lisbon, Portugal, in front of a public health notice on November 30

'It's way too early to be worried,' Dr Chris Thompson, an immunologist at Loyola University Maryland told DailyMail.com.

Thompson says that there have been other mutations of the virus that have caused panic, but did not materialize into anything.

The Beta variant, for example, was the second-named mutation of Covid, and had many fearing it would restart the pandemic when it first was discovered in late 2020.

In late summer, the Mu variant started to grow in the United States, and was feared to be have the ability to evade vaccine protection.

Like Beta, Mu also quietly disappeared without causing many problems in America, and failed to overtake the Delta variant.

Both variants caused unnecessary panic when the public was first warned about them, and Thompson thinks that could be avoided this time in case Omicron never materializes into a threat.

Instead, Americans, and more importantly health officials, should just wait until more information becomes available.

'We just don't know [much] yet,' he said. 

'We're gonna need some time for the epidemiological data to come in. 

'The early stuff out of South Africa is saying it's a pretty mild infection. Then other epidemiological data will come out and we'll know a bit more about how quickly it spreads how easy it is to transmit.'

While some early data is available, he says it may take months for experts to truly determine how dangerous the variant is to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and how infectious it is compared to the Delta variant.

Discovery of the Omicron variant did initially shock and concern some health experts.

The number of mutations the variant has is more than any other existing Covid variant.

Mutations on the spike protein are especially concerning, since that is the part of the virus that the existing Covid vaccines target.

A highly mutated spike protein may be resistant to the antibodies a person has from vaccination, and put them at risk of infection. 

There are some early promising signs, though.

Dr Ugar Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech said Tuesday that he believes that Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients are still safe from severe complications from the virus, even if Omicron does put them at an increased risk of a breakthrough infection.

The variant has so far been sequenced in 20 countries, including the UK and Canada.

While there has yet to be a confirmed case, Thompson and many other health experts agree that it has likely found its way into the country by now, it will just take time for it to be confirmed.

He believes that Americans should still take some precautions, though, not just to protect from the potential of Omicron, but to protect themselves from the still-dominant and actively circulating Delta variant.

The Delta variant has remained the dominant strain around the world, and accounts for nearly all of the new cases being recorded in the U.S. right now. 

The highly contagious variant is still more of a threat to Americans than Omicron at this point.

'Anything you can do to mitigate the spread disease is going to be beneficial,' he said. 

'[The new variant] is a great reminder to make sure you're washing your hands, that your social distancing thing when it's appropriate, that you're wearing your mask if you're around people who are immunocompromised, or if you're in an area where you might get exposed to Covid.

'And if you haven't been vaccinated, really consider [getting the shot].' 

Americans should also start thinking about ventilation, especially in winter months where the heat indoors is blasting, and the air is more dry inside.

An expert tells DailyMail.com that the virus spread easier through dry air as human airwaves inhaling dry air will cause the body's airwaves to clean itself less, making it easier to get infected. Pictured: The COVID-19 virus pictured under a microscope

Dr David Edwards, an aerosol scientist at Harvard University and inventor of FEND, a nasal spray designed to prevent infection from Covid, told DailyMail.com that moisturizing the air - and by virtue our upper airways as well - could help prevent spread of the virus.

A person with moist airwaves is less likely to contract the virus because their body is doing less natural cleaning of the area, allowing Covid particles an easier path to infection. 

He said that use of a humidifier, which saturates water into the air can be a boon to any household with an immunocompromised person.

Edwards also thinks that keeping air circulating through the indoors areas can prevent virus droplets from hanging in the air for a long period of time, reducing transmission. 

Why is the new Omicron variant so scary?

 What is so concerning about the variant?

Experts say it is the 'worst variant they have ever seen' and are alarmed by the number of mutations it carries.

The variant — which the World Health Organization has named Omicron — has 32 mutations on the spike protein — the most ever recorded and twice as many as the currently dominant Delta strain. 

Experts fear the changes could make the vaccines 40 per cent less effective in a best-case scenario.

This is because so many of the changes on B.1.1.529 are on the virus's spike protein.

The current crop of vaccines trigger the body to recognise the version of the spike from older versions of the virus.

The Botswana variant has around 50 mutations and more than 30 of them are on the spike protein. The current crop of vaccines trigger the body to recognize the version of the spike protein from older versions of the virus. But the mutations may make the spike protein look so different that the body's immune system struggles to recognize it and fight it off. And three of the spike mutations (H665Y, N679K, P681H) help it enter the body's cells more easily. Meanwhile, it is missing a membrane protein (NSP6) which was seen in earlier iterations of the virus, which experts think could make it more infectious. And it has two mutations (R203K and G204R) that have been present in all variants of concern so far and have been linked with infectiousness 

But because the spike protein looks so different on the new strain, the body's immune system may struggle to recognise it and fight it off.

It also includes mutations found on the Delta variant that allow it to spread more easily.

Experts warn they won't know how much more infectious the virus is for at least two weeks and may not know its impact on Covid hospitalizations and deaths for up to six weeks. 

What mutations does the variant have? 

The Botswana variant has more than 50 mutations and more than 30 of them are on the spike protein.

It carries mutations P681H and N679K which are 'rarely seen together' and could make it yet more jab resistant.

These two mutations, along with H655Y, may also make it easier for the virus to sneak into the body's cells.

And the mutation N501Y may make the strain more transmissible and was previously seen on the Kent 'Alpha' variant and Beta among others.

Two other mutations (R203K and G204R) could make the virus more infectious, while a mutation that is missing from this variant (NSP6) could increase its transmissibility.  

It also carries mutations K417N and E484A that are similar to those on the South African 'Beta' variant that made it better able to dodge vaccines.

But it also has the N440K, found on Delta, and S477N, on the New York variant — which was linked with a surge of cases in the state in March — that has been linked to antibody escape. 

Other mutations it has include G446S, T478K, Q493K, G496S, Q498R and Y505H, although their significance is not yet clear. 

Is it a variant of concern?

The World Health Organization has classified the virus as a ‘variant of concern’, the label given to the highest-risk strains.

This means WHO experts have concluded its mutations allow it to spread faster, cause more severe illness or hamper the protection from vaccines. 

Where did B.1.1.529 first emerge?

The first case was uploaded to international variant database GISAID by Hong Kong on November 23. The person carrying the new variant was traveling to the country from South Africa.

The UK was the first country to identify that the virus could be a threat and alerted other nations.  

Experts believe the strain may have originated in Botswana, but continental Africa does not sequence many positive samples, so it may never be known where the variant first emerged.

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, told MailOnline the virus likely emerged in a lingering infection in an immunocompromised patient, possibly someone with undiagnosed AIDS.

In patients with weakened immune systems infections can linger for months because the body is unable to fight it off. This gives the virus time to acquire mutations that allow it to get around the body's defenses.

Will I be protected if I have a booster?

Scientists have warned the new strain could make Covid vaccines 40 per cent less effective at preventing infection - however the impact on severe illness is still unknown.

But they said emergence of the mutant variant makes it even more important to get a booster jab the minute people become eligible for one.

The vaccines trigger neutralizing antibodies, which is the best protection available against the new variant. So the more of these antibodies a person has the better, experts said.

Britain's Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: 'The booster jab was already important before we knew about this variant – but now, it could not be more important.' 

When will we know more about the variant?

Data on how transmissible the new variant is and its effect on hospitalizations and deaths is still weeks away.

The UK has offered help to South Africa, where most of the cases are concentrated, to gather this information and believe they will know more about transmissibility in two to three weeks.

But it may be four to six weeks until they know more about hospitalizations and deaths.

What is the variant called?

The strain was scientifically named as B.1.1.529 on November 24, one day after it was spotted in Hong Kong.

The variants given an official name so far include Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma.

Experts at the World Health Organization on November 26 named the variant Omicron. 

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