{"653442":{"#nid":"653442","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"What is a \u0027Variant of Concern\u0027 or a \u0027Variant of Interest\u0027 when dealing with coronavirus mutations?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists studying the Omicron variant\u0026nbsp;have developed different categories to warn the public about the level of concern that should be placed on mutations of the coronavirus. Variants of the virus\u0026nbsp;are sometimes more bark than bite, but occasionally the threat is real.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/finn\/m.g.\u0022\u003EM.G .Finn\u003C\/a\u003E, professor and Chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology, says Omicron\u0026nbsp;quickly moved from a Variant of Interest to a Variant of Concern (as defined\u0026nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control)\u0026nbsp;because of the possibility it could be more transmissible than previous Covid-19 variants.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2021-12-06 20:00:55","changed_gmt":"2021-12-15 17:51:57","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.11alive.com\/article\/news\/health\/coronavirus\/covid-variant-concern-interest\/85-b0bec826-82fb-43ef-83ad-69c36d4a65e1","dateline":{"date":"2021-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-12-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"96831","name":"M.G. Finn"},{"id":"184289","name":"covid-19"},{"id":"188223","name":"variants"},{"id":"189477","name":"Omicron variant"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}