Amid Omicron scare, what is this talk about Delmicron? Here's all you need to know

As the world is battling fast spreading and highly infectious Omicron variant of Covid-19, reports about “Delmicron” have emerged over the last few days.

Omicron cases are raging in the US and UK, and have seen a rise in India. Some experts have said that there is a possibility that the West is caught between twin spikes of the Delta and the Omicron variants of the coronavirus.

So what is Delmicron?

Delmicron is not a new variant of the coronavirus but the Delta and the Omicron strains together fuelling Covid-19 cases. Data shows Omicron is the more dominant variant in the US and accounts for 73 per cent of all new cases, up from less than 1 per cent at the beginning of the month.

In the UK, daily cases of Covid-19 surpassed the 1,00,000-mark for the first time on Wednesday. Omicron is also the main driver of the latest surge in Britain.

Experts say people with a weak immune system, the elderly and ones with comorbidities are at higher risk of getting infected with the Delta and Omicron variants.

Can the combination of Delta and Omicron lead to a new super strain? Experts are divided.

Moderna's chief medical officer Dr Paul Burton said it was possible that both the strains can swap genes and trigger a more dangerous variant.

Other researchers have also warned that such “recombination events” are extremely rare but cannot be ruled out.

Also Watch: Omicron cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days, WHO says