Scientist who first sequenced Omicron variant worried by speed of change

Velocity of mutations adds to the puzzle of how transmissible the variant may be, says South Africa's Sikhulile Moyo.

The speed at which the omicron variant appears to have accumulated its unusual pattern of mutations is a concern, according to Sikhulile Moyo, the scientist who first detected the new strain that has quickly spread across the world. 

The velocity of the mutations also raises questions about how the variant evolved and adds to the puzzle of how transmissible the variant may be. 

Moyo, director for the Botswana Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory and a research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a briefing on Friday that viruses don’t accumulate mutations in a single step. Given the global