This could be the “worst of all worlds” variant scientists warned could emerge if COVID were allowed to run rampant, combining Delta’s higher hospitalization rates with Omicron’s greater transmissibility and ability to break through immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections.
A new coronavirus variant nicknamed "Deltacron" has been discovered in Cyprus, local media reported on Saturday.
The variant has a similar genetic background to the Delta variant, as well as some of the mutations from Omicron, explained Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, the head of the laboratory of biotechnology and molecular virology at the University of Cyprus, according to the Cyprus Mail.
In total, 10 of the mutations from Omicron were found in the 25 samples taken in Cyprus. 11 of the samples came from people who were hospitalized due to the virus, while 14 came from the general population.
Kostrikis theorized that the fact that the frequency of the mutation among hospitalized patients was higher could point to a correlation between the new variant and hospitalizations.
It will take at least a few more weeks to determine whether this is a false alarm or truly a variant that combines the worst aspects of Delta and Omicron—if it can’t outcompete Omicron or if it is no more severe than Omicron, we can breathe a slight sigh of relief for now, at least until the next even worse variant emerges. But if it does outcompete or just becomes as prevalent as Omicron while making it more likely that people be hospitalized (and thus more likely to die or get long COVID), we are in for a world of hurt even worse than the world of hurt we are currently in. Combinations of Delta and Omicron are very likely to happen given how both co-exist in many patients and populations and how COVID-19 has shown a dangerous ability to combine genes from different variants that co-exist in the same patient.
This is why the dropping of precautions on the assumption that Omicron is “mild” is so dangerous. We shouldn’t just “wait and see” if even worse variants emerge, only taking precautions after millions of additional hospitalizations prove that an even worse variant is outcompeting currently already very bad variants, by which time millions of additional people, possibly including us, will already have experienced unnecessary hospitalizations, deaths, or long COVID. We should instead keep taking precautions until the pandemic is truly over, on the assumption that worse variants are going to emerge sooner or later, until better treatments and vaccines are more widely available to everyone in the world, to the point where we can wrestle COVID cases down to the same low level we have wrestled other dangerous diseases like measles, mumps, polio, etc. down to.
Personally, I am aiming to get through the pandemic without being infected, or, failing that, to get only an asymptomatic or very mild case of COVID (which tends to be less severe if one is exposed to a smaller dose for a shorter period, such that maximizing precautions will reduce the chances of severe COVID even if I am exposed). To accomplish this, I am revising my idea of what is necessary for an good life, so that I can maintain maximum COVID precautions all the time, for the rest of my life if needed. For instance, I’ve learned to cook foods that taste even better than restaurant food, so I might never need to eat in restaurants again. I get all my groceries delivered too, and I actually like it better than going to a grocery store—it saves so much time! I never got any particular enjoyment out of going to grocery stores anyway—it was always a chore even before the pandemic. I always wear N95 masks indoors whenever I am outside my home, as well as when I am in crowded outdoor spaces. I’m trying to revise my idea of “fun” to include more local activities instead of anything that requires air travel (which would also be good for the environment). I’m trying to get my friends excited about outdoor activities instead of crowded indoor parties. I’m trying to get my employer to continue allowing remote work, perhaps on a permanent basis.
I also look on the bright side of a long-term anti-COVID lifestyle: I used to get colds, and sometimes flus (despite getting vaccinated every year), for months every year, but I haven’t been ill at all ever since COVID started, since my COVID precautions are also preventing many other contagious diseases! I love not ever getting sick—it is a silver lining that possibly balances out all the inconveniences of COVID precautions. In addition to not wanting severe COVID or long-haul COVID, I’m also becoming more critical of the idea that it is “normal” and “OK” for most people to spend several months each year sick with colds, flus, and mild COVID. I no longer think that being sick several months each year is worth whatever “fun” and “convenience” I might get from not taking precautions. I think of it this way—even when precautions are mildly inconvenient, they are far more convenient than getting sick, and I have the option of taking breaks from them whenever I want to, or reducing or abandoning them if I really want to, for instance if I want to take some risks to do something that I consider worth getting sick for, such as a close friend’s wedding, or an interview for a dream job. But if I get sick with COVID, a cold, or flu, the symptoms are MUCH more uncomfortable and inconvenient than any precautions I might take, and I won’t get a break from the symptoms at all for days, maybe weeks or months (or maybe the rest of my life, in the case of long COVID and/or permanent organ damage caused by COVID). And I would have no control over the timing of an infection, so it could prevent me from engaging in an activity that is very important to me, unlike precautions that I can drop whenever I want in order to participate in a high-priority activity I consider more important than avoiding infection. For instance, I would hate to waste my “risk budget” on something low-priority like indoor dining, and then get sick and have to miss out on a close friend’s wedding or an interview for a dream job.
I have lots of fun conversations via Zoom and phone. I actually think these conversations are more fun than socializing in person, because we can be totally relaxed and not get stressed thinking about facemasks, ventilation, staying 6 feet apart, making sure everyone is fully vaccinated and boostered and recently tested, etc. and not having to negotiate or argue about our different priorities with regards to those precautions. Email, social media, and posting on Daily Kos also help me not feel isolated. Whenever I am tempted to reduce my precautions in order to socialize in person, I think about how awkward and stressful all the precautions will be, and how bad we will all feel if we get each other sick, and how bad it feels to be sick, versus how relaxing staying home and keeping contact with loved ones remotely will be, and there’s no contest.
