The forecast that after the emergence of the dominant strain of COVID-19 will become an ordinary cold is unlikely, said experts interviewed by RBC. So they commented on an article by British professor Paul Hunter, published in The Spectator magazine.
According to the head of the laboratory for especially dangerous infections of the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine, Professor of Virology Alexander Chepurnov, the transformation of COVID-19 over time into an ordinary infection has been talked about for a long time, but it looks more like a dream. “In fact, it turns out that the virus has the ability to improve itself in a negative direction for humans. While he is selecting towards greater infectivity, and all this complicates the situation, ”the expert told RBC. He added that the forecast could still come true, but the current situation suggests otherwise.
According to him, Professor Hunter would be right if the virus did not evolve in a negative direction for humans. In such a case, people would receive antibodies after vaccination or natural illness. However, according to Chepurnov, under the influence of vaccination and an increase in the number of people who have been ill, the virus may begin to change faster and stronger.
His words about the constant evolution of the virus throughout its existence was confirmed by the virologist, professor at Moscow State University, Doctor of Biological Sciences Alexei Agranovsky.
According to the scientist, the consequences of such evolution are much more important. If the infection spreads massively, the risk of new strains increases, Agranovsky said, recalling that it was this scenario in India that led to the emergence of the delta strain. In the future, other strains of SARS CoV-2 may appear that can escape vaccines, which will create new foci of infection and new opportunities for the emergence of strains, he said.
According to Agranovsky, only vaccination can stop the coronavirus pandemic. “The emergence of herd immunity can lead to what is already visible: for the vaccinated, the disease progresses more easily, and sometimes quite easily. This is, perhaps, the “transformation” of COVID-19 into a lung acute respiratory infection, “he assessed Hunter's words.
In his article, British scientist Paul Hunter stated that people will not stop getting sick with COVID-19, but the mutation of the virus will greatly slow down after the appearance of the dominant strain. According to him, the delta strain may well become such a dominant variety of the virus.
