The mysterious origins of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has ravaged the world for nearly 2 years, with continuous emergence of new variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Omicron, the latest Variant of Concern (VOC), has spread to all six continents, leading to a rapid increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases and surpassing Delta as the dominant variant in many countries. So far, Omicron includes three sublineages, BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3, with BA.1 as the most prevalent one.