Several ‘Deltacrons’—new COVID variants with the potential to attack the lungs like Delta and spread as easily as Omicron

Scientists have their eyes on several "Deltacrons”—new COVID variants with the potential to attack the lungs like Delta and spread as easily as Omicron The so-called Deltacron variant is back this fall, with the potential to be the next big thing in COVID viral evolution, scientists say. Fortune

... In the waning days of 2022, the Deltacron phenomenon is back—if it ever left. This time it’s in the form of new COVID variants XBC, XAY, and XAW.

In a worst-case scenario, a Delta-Omicron hybrid could be as deadly as the Delta variant—which killed about 3.4% of those it infected, nearly double that of Omicron, according to a 2022 study published in Nature Reviews Immunology. It could also feature the record-setting transmissibility of Omicron.  ...