WHO on November 24, 2021, from South Africa and Botswana and classified as VOC which carries mutations found in other VOCs
More than 50 mutations have been identified in the recent Omicron variant of which 50% is within the RBD site of the S protein
26–32 substitution, deletion and insertion mutations only on the S protein
Omicron variant has the deletion at spike position 69–70, which is similar to the Alpha variant; there are three key mutations conferring immune escape which have been also noticed in the Beta and Gamma variants