What we know about Omicron so far

COVID-19 has been a quicksand of incomplete information which changes by the day.

Every aspect of the disease â€“ its epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and outcome – is a shapeshifter, frustratingly so given we have lived with it now for two years. 

The Omicron variant is the latest unknown. Given how rapidly knowledge about it is evolving, anything written about it today will be out of date by tomorrow.  

Nevertheless, below is the latest information from the medical literature as of 8 December 2021: