Archived - Omicron (B.1.1529 COVID variant ) (including "deltacron") (no longer being updated)

Last updated (the sensitive PubMed strategy), 0920 GMT, 15th November 2022.

PubMed to find research articles

Less sensitive strategy (includes deltacron and deltamicron)

More sensitive strategy (includes the less sensitive strategy plus deltakron, deltamikron, XE, and the lineages BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, BA.5, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, AY.25, XBB). 

Note: this more sensitive strategy finds any work from the UK postcodes BA1, BA2, BA3, BA4, BA5, from any Dutch postcodes that include the letters XE, and any COVID work involving xenon.

PubMed COVID-19 Clinical Query 
Searching the Omicron terms from the less sensitive search above.  Select aspect (diagnosis, treatment, etc.) from the drop down box.

Preprints

COVID preprints from medRxiv and bioRxiv (sorted by date so newest first).  Note that the PubMed strategies above will also find some preprints.

UK government, SPI-M-O, SAGE, UK academic institutions, REACT

COVID research and statistics - includes scenarios, reports and modelling on Omicron.

Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational Sub-Group (SPI-M-O) consensus statement, 8th December 2021, for SAGE 

SAGE minutes for December 2021  - various papers relating to Omicron.

UK government oral statement, 26 November 2021

Imperial College MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology reports - report 50 is on hospitalisation risk for Omicron cases in England, report 49 is on growth, population distribution and immune escape of Omicron.

REACT-1 study of coronavirus transmission.   Carried out from 23 November to 14 December, published 23 December, includes some information about Omicron

Scottish Government

Coronavirus daily data for Scotland

UK Health Security Agency

UK Health Security Agency daily overview

UK Health Security Agency SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, Technical Briefings

Briefings, and technical data.   Briefings from 29 onwards, and some other documents, discuss Omicron.    The UK government coronavirus page has updates on the rule changes and guidance in the light of Omicron.

UK Health Security Agency news item about situation in the UK (issued 1 October 2021 but updated since)

Genomic information

Information from the CoVariants site (using information from GISAID)

GISAID - initiative to share data about all influenza viruses and about SARS-CoV-2.

WHO

Update on Omicron, 28th November 2021

Announcement of the classification of the new omicron variant,  26th November 2021.  

General information about tracking of variants is here.

South Africa

FAQ from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa

Republic of South Africa Health Department Coronavirus portal has this presentation on what is known, and this infographic

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

ECDC Threat Assessment Brief

First update (dated 2 December) to the Threat Assessment Brief

ECDC Epidemiological Update

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, US)

CDC Statement

CDC - Omicron variant: what you need to know

CDC Potential rapid spread of Omicron variant

Other

GAVI: The Vaccine Alliance

ReliefWeb press release (from the WHO)

The symptoms of Omicron, from the ZOE COVID project.

News sources

BBC Coronavirus

BMJ Coronavirus Hub

CIDRAP Novel Coronavirus Resource Center

The Guardian's Coronavirus Live page

Medical Xpress Diseases, Conditions and Syndromes  

Medscape UK

Nature's news pages (you may need a subscription to read)

STAT: What's known and unknown about Omicron

Other things

Your Local Epidemiologist (Substack, payment may be needed).

Imperial College London Q and A

On Twitter, try #Omicron, #Omikron and #OmikronVariante, and for older information perhaps, #B11529.     Choose carefully, of course.  The two spellings with the -k- do find some tweets in English and some in other European languages.