Secretary of State Blinken: The United States is grateful to South Africa for the prompt identification of the omicron strain (South Africa) Naledi Pandor for the rapid identification of the omicron strain of coronavirus and the prompt dissemination of this information. His words are quoted by TASS, citing State Department spokesman Ned Price.
“Secretary of State Blinken particularly praised the work of South African scientists for the rapid identification of the omicron variety and the South African government for transparency in proliferation information, this should serve as an example to the whole world, “the statement says.
The head of the State Department also expressed gratitude to South Africa for its long-standing cooperation with the United States in the field of healthcare.
Previously, the head of the laboratory of especially dangerous infections Alexander Chepurnov of the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine said that the recently discovered COVID-19 strain, dubbed the omicron, is very different from its Wuhan ancestor.
According to him, when studying the omicron strain, scientists were revealed significant changes in many important areas that form the immunological portrait of the coronavirus. This may indicate that such areas may remain “invisible” for antibodies that have developed after illness or vaccination.