Doctor of Medical Sciences, virologist Anatoly Altstein assessed the danger of the appearance of the AY4.2 type of coronavirus. This subspecies originated from the “delta” and, according to the scientist, cannot yet compete with its “parent”.
Delta dominates the world today. But we must understand that the process of virus mutations is a natural process. So he develops and tries to survive.
– These kinds of things appear all the time. The virus multiplies, its genomes are inaccurately copied, as a result of which new varieties appear, '' says the RT virologist.
He stressed that the experts are now “focused on the delta strain. He is the main enemy and all developments are aimed at neutralizing him.
And the main way to fight the disease is vaccination. Accelerating its pace will help break the chain of diseases.
– And other methods of protection against disease are well known to all. This is wearing masks in crowded places, especially in public transport, keeping a distance, working remotely, if possible. That is, all measures that reduce contact between people to a minimum, – concluded the virologist.
AY4.2 was discovered in England. Experts believe that the dangerous subtype of “delta” within 2-3 weeks can spread widely outside the country, since it is at least 10-15% more infectious than the original version, the newspaper Izvestia writes.
In Russia, the morbidity statistics have been growing for several weeks, and the mortality rate is breaking records. In this regard, non-working days will be introduced in the country from October 30 to November 7.
Immunologist Nikolai Kryuchkov believes that this initiative is not a sufficient measure.
– The duration is only a week. This is not enough. True, here you need to understand that this is better than nothing. That is, the effect will be, but not strong enough. The point is that you need at least two weeks, and according to foreign European data – three to four weeks. Despite the fact that their events were more serious than in Russia, – the immunologist comments to the Free Press.
