By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

Centaurus is the ninth largest constellation and it can be found in the southern sky.  Centaurus belongs to the Hercules family of constellations. The second century Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy has been credited with discovering the constellation. 

However, the constellation was noted by both astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus and poet Aratus prior to his discover. Eudoxus was a student of Plato’s while Aratus wrote poetry using astronomy as one of his subjects.  

The constellation Centaurus has two of the brightest stars in the sky with Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri.  The constellation contains the Centaurus A galaxy and a globular cluster referred to as Omega Centaur.  

Centaur comes from Greek mythology to describe a figure that is half human and half horse.  In the zodiac, Sagittarius is the archer centaur.  Those born between the dates of November 22 and December 21 belong to this zodiac sign.  They are considered to have an adventurous spirit, a love of travel, to be optimistic, and a philosophical mind.  They can be outspoken and blunt.  Some famous Sagittarians are Taylor Swift, Jon Stewart, Bill Nye (the science guy), Tina Turner, and Ben Stiller.  Oh, did I mention that I am a Sagittarius as well!

Why all of this talk about Greek mythology centaurs and the constellation Centaurus?

A new Omicron subvariant was discovered in India in May of 2022 and is starting to get traction in other countries.  After being reported in India, the BA.2.75 subvariant has surfaced in Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.  The World Health Organization continues to list this mutation as a variant of interest, but not a variant of concern.  The majority of the world and the United States is still battling the BA.4 and BA.4 variants of Omicron.  

A Twitter user gave the new BA.2.75 variant the name of Centaurus and this is what provided the background on constellations and Greek mythology for this article.  The media has picked up this name and you may see it in the future.  So far, this Centaurus variant is known for spreading rapidly.  The distribution seems to follow a pattern of being most active in areas that have not had a major outbreak of the BA.4 or BA.5 variants.  The existing COVID-19 vaccines have activity against these variants and reduce the risk of serious complications from COVID-19 infections.  

Recently, a student pharmacist with a minor in public health shared a social media meme with me that rang true. It was based off the aphorism, “what does not kill you, will make you stronger”.  An aphorism is defined as a pithy observation that contains general truth.  Many of us have heard this aphorism.  Well social media took it one step further by changing it to “what does not kill you, will mutate and try again”.  This is referring to the ability of a SARS-CoV-2 virus to mutate and come back to cause more infections even in the same individual.  

Viruses have the ability to mutate.  Each year the World Health Organization and the CDC evaluate the changes in the influenzae virus to reformulate the flu vaccine based on these mutations.  The changes are analyzed based on the concept of a shift or a drift. The same analysis is being done with SARS-Co-V2.  

Viruses have the ability to shift or drift.  We have some excellent examples from over 50 years of science.  SARS-CoV-2 provides more evidence. So, the Centaurus subvariant or BA.2.75 is considered a drift in the virus.  A drift is a small or subtle change in the surface of the virus that leads to a mutation.  The Centaurus subvariant is an example of a drift because it is a mutation within the Omicron family of viruses.  When the virus goes through an abrupt or major change in the structure of the virus, this can be considered a shift.  When SARS-CoV-2 changed from alpha to delta or delta to omicron, this was a shift.  A shift can create a larger and more complex problem in the management of the virus. 

The CDC and World Health Organization monitor shifts and drifts to determine the seriousness of mutations and the ability of vaccines to help protect the population.  The good news for now is Omicron is still the major concern around the world pertaining to the viral cause of COVID-19 infections.  The virus continues to drift creating mutations, but has not made a major shift to a different variant.  

One way to prevent mutations and to protect against drifts is to get the new bivariant vaccine booster.  The bivariant vaccine provides additional protection against Omicron strains.  

Be an archer centaur and pierce an arrow through those mutations!  To learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations or the Omicron mutations, contact ONU HealthWise at 419-772-3784.

ONU HealthWise is offering COVID-19 vaccines as well as flu shots Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are available.  Clinics are Monday through Friday from 4:00- 6 :00 p.m. Please call the pharmacy for more information.  

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784
www.onuhealthwisepharmacy.com