Epidemiologist Rutherford: COVID-19 acquires more and more mutations to become more infectious as the virus tends to become more infectious, bypassing the immune system and multiplying for a longer time. So the emergence of 32 mutations in a new strain of coronavirus called “omicron”, explained Professor of Epidemiology at the University of California at San Francisco (USA) George Rutherford.
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In an interview with Lenta.ru, the epidemiologist noted that at the moment it is not known whether this type of COVID-19 surpasses the delta strain, which is now dominant in the world, according to any of these criteria. Therefore, it is premature to draw conclusions about how dangerous the new strain is.
Earlier, the Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the strain could spread throughout the world over the next few months. On the evening of November 26, the World Health Organization recognized the new strain as a species of concern.
The first reports of infection with the new strain in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong appeared on November 24. Later, those infected with a new variety of COVID-19 were found in Israel and Belgium. British scientists from University College London suggested that B.1.1.529 would be more resistant to vaccines than the delta variant. University laboratories have found that the strain has more than 32 mutations.