Virologists doubt the possibility of a different course of "omicron" in Russia

There will be no significant differences in the nature of the course of the disease with the omicron strain of CORONAVIRUS due to the genetic characteristics of the Russians or the climate in RUSSIA, HEAD of the laboratory of especially dangerous infections of the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine, professor of virology Alexander Chepurnov told RBC.

Formerly Deputy DIRECTOR of the Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after G.N. Gabrichevsky Rospotrebnadzor, Tatyana Ruzhentsova, on the air of Sputnik radio, expressed the opinion that other climatic conditions in Russia and the genetic characteristics of the population can affect the spread and symptoms of the omicron strain of coronavirus.

“I think that the climatic conditions in Russia have absolutely nothing to do with it, the temperature regime will also not affect anything. I do not think that the population differences between Russians and other nationalities could lead to this. According to the human genome [of different nationalities], the situation is similar,” Chepurnov said.

Sergei Voznesensky, Associate Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, disagreed with Ruzhentsova's point of view.