Omicron keeps finding new evolutionary tricks to outsmart our immunity

An electron microscope image shows a SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated in the early days of the pandemic. It's been nearly a year since omicron was first detected, and scientists say this branch of the coronavirus family tree is still thriving. (NIAID/NIH via AP)

Throughout the pandemic, the virus that causes COVID-19 has been evolving fast, blindsiding the world with one variant after another.

But the World Health Organization hasn't given a SARS-CoV-2 variant a Greek name in almost a year, a move that's reserved for new variants that do or could have significant public health impacts, such as being more transmissible or causing more severe disease.