The Covid-19 virus is mutating, resulting in newer virus strains being reported from around the world. The latest in this list is Deltacron, being reported first by scientists at Cyprus and which combines the traits of the Delta and the Omicron variants of the virus. It was found by the scientists at University of Cyprus that there were Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes.
From January 7, 2022, when this was first discovered, about 25 strains have been sent to GISAID, the international database which tracks these genetic changes in viruses. While studies are still underway, from the initial research it has come out that it is more likely to infect those who had been hospitalized for Covid than those who were not hospitalized. One more sample that resembled Deltacron came from Israel.
The scientist, Mr Kostrikis, has ruled out suggestions by some experts that this mutation could be a result of laboratory contamination. This is not a Variant of Concern yet and more data in this respect is awaited.
Wear N95 Masks and Vaccinate
In the wake of newer strains which are being discovered and which will continue to spring up from time to time in future also, it is pertinent to have two most effective protections in place-vaccination and wearing N95 masks.
While vaccination is the best guarantor of safety against the various strains, n95 masks are first level preventive defenses to guard against highly transmissible strains such as Omicron or those which are most likely to skip the body immunity.