Virologists commented on data on a strain more contagious than "delta"

The variant of the delta strain - AY.4.2 deserves close attention and has the potential for further spread if 10% of CORONAVIRUS cases in England are associated with it, virologist, professor at Moscow State University, DOCTOR of Biology Alexei Agranovsky told RBC, commenting on the message of British scientists about the danger new strain

According to the virologist, there are now about 50 delta-derived variants, but none of them has become more competitive due to a change in some properties.

“Option AY.4.2 certainly deserves close attention. If 8-10% of covid-19 cases in England are associated with this variant, then it has the potential to spread further. How much AY.4.2 is more contagious than delta needs to be investigated, while it is difficult to say something definite, ”said Agranovsky.

He noted that if the new strain is 10-15% more contagious than the original delta strain, then this is a small increase. For comparison, he cited the Delta strain, which is twice as contagious as the Wuhan strain.