The emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with a suite of mutations that suggests it might be extra transmissible and be able to evade at least some immune protection, has the world eager for answers about what it means for the Covid-19 pandemic. But so much remains unknown largely because the variant appears to have been detected and publicized so quickly.

With other variants, a matter of months passed between the time they were first documented until they were designated “variants of concern” — in some cases giving scientists more opportunity to understand them before they attracted widespread attention. With Omicron, initially identified as B.1.1.529, it all happened within about two weeks.

As they race to launch more rigorous studies, scientists for now are trying to glean insights from limited epidemiological evidence in South Africa and from the list of mutations the variant has acquired, some of which are associated with an increased ability to spread or to get around immune protection. The variant is also notable for its sheer number of mutations:  32 alone in its spike protein, which is what the vaccines teach our immune systems to target. Other variants just had a handful of mutations in spike.

“Right now there are many studies that are underway,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on Covid-19, said Friday. “There is a lot of work that is ongoing in South Africa and in other countries to better characterize the variant itself, in terms of transmissibility, in terms of severity, and any impact on our countermeasures, like the use of diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines. So far, there is little information, but those studies are underway, so we need researchers to have the time to carry them out.”

She added: “It will take days to weeks for some of these studies to be undertaken.”