The appearance of the Omicron strain indicates that the coronavirus is moving in the direction of increasing transmissibility and reducing pathogenicity, the head of the laboratory of biotechnology at the Institute of Virology named after Izvestia said in an interview with Izvestia. DI. Ivanovsky Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology. honorary academician N.F. Gamaleya of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Sergey Alkhovsky.
“If its appearance really leads to the fact that the majority of the population acquires immunity, having had a mild illness, then this is much better than if we had a severe illness,” he said.
The virologist believes that Omicron may be useful in terms of the evolution of the virus.
“Maybe the emergence of other variants that will also have reduced pathogenicity will eventually replace the strains that cause severe illness, and we will live with this virus, as we live with other seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold,” he said. he.
At the same time, Sergey Alkhovsky is sure that Omicron is not the last strain of the pandemic. According to him, it is likely that the entire Greek alphabet will be required to denote future options.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
“Omicron” is not the last strain, we will reach the end of the alphabet”
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.