Infectionist of the Ministry of Health evaluated the theory of the “final strain” of coronavirus

If a strain more adapted to the conditions appears in the process of evolution, it will take the place of the omicron, the chief freelance infectious disease specialist of the Ministry of HEALTH said in an interview with RBC.Opinions about the "final strain of omicron" he called naive

It is naive to think that the evolution of the CORONAVIRUS will stop at the omicron variant, Vladimir Chulanov, chief freelance specialist in infectious diseases of the Ministry of Health, said in an interview with RBC. If in the process of evolution a strain appears that is more adapted to the conditions that have arisen, it will take the place of the omicron, Chulanov warned.

SARS-CoV-2 reproduces with the help of an enzyme called RNA polymerase, which makes copies of the genome. At the same time, viral enzymes are highly productive, but less accurate: the virus produces a significant number of genetic variants, some of which die immediately, while the other part participates in evolutionary selection, the infectious disease specialist explains. “If some variants of the virus are more adapted to the conditions, then they begin to dominate the population. The appearance of mutations depends on the conditions in which the virus lives.

Chulanov - RBC: It is naive to think that the evolution of covid will stop on the omicron Society

Over the past few months, scientists and experts have been speculating that omicron could be the latest coronavirus mutation or strain of coronavirus “that will end the pandemic.” WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus had previously questioned this theory. In addition, Ghebreyesus clarified that despite the fact that omicron is more easily tolerated than delta in vaccinated people, it should not be classified as “lung”.

Experts responded to the statement about the artificial origin of "omicron" Society