New omicron studies help explain why the variant is mild but spreads fast
The Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2022
There are limits to how much we can infer about human disease from experiments on tissue cultures and lab animals, said Dr. Vineet Menachery, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Specific mutations in omicron’s spike protein, the structure the virus uses to attach to and enter cells, may help explain why the variant spreads so easily. “If it’s better at infecting cells, then the expectation is that it’s better at transmission," Menachery said.