The Omicron variant is partially attenuated, likely because it fails to efficiently infect lung cells. Here, Hoffmann et. al. show that this defect can be lost during Omicron evolution as demonstrated for the subvariant BA.5 that robustly infects lung cells in vitro and in vivo.
- Markus Hoffmann
- Lok-Yin Roy Wong
- Stefan Pöhlmann