Nikolai Kryuchkov: the COVID-19 delta strain can elude antibodies, but this is not critical has the ability to elude antibodies that neutralize it, but this is not as critical as it might seem. This was announced on Tuesday, November 9, by the candidate of medical sciences, immunologist Nikolai Kryuchkov. His words are quoted by Izvestia.
This is how the expert assessed the feature of the delta strain, voiced earlier by the chief freelance infectious disease specialist of the Ministry of Health of Russia Vladimir Chulanov.
According to Kryuchkov, at the population level, this strain is slightly more adapted to post-vaccine immunity, therefore, to neutralize it, a higher level of antibodies in the human body is needed. He stressed that there is no tragedy in this, and vaccines continue to work, and the effectiveness of vaccinations against severe cases, deaths and hospitalizations as a result is still higher than 90 percent.
“In terms of pathogenicity, the strain is most likely the same as the previous ones, or a little evolutionarily more difficult, but the difference there is not critical, not big, “the immunologist clarified.
Earlier at the plenary session of the X Jubilee International Scientific and Practical Conference” Molecular Diagnostics – 2021 “Professor Vladimir Chulanov said that the delta strain of COVID-19 is capable of escaping neutralizing antibodies obtained both during vaccination and with a previously transferred coronavirus. He also noted that the delta strain is more quickly transmitted from person to person and can cause a more severe course of the disease due to its greater pathogenicity.