Russia (bbabo.net), - A new subspecies of "omicron" - the BA-2 strain of coronavirus infection, also known as "stealth omicron", has now become widespread in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Andrey Pozdnyakov, an infectious disease specialist, chief physician of the clinical diagnostic laboratory of Invitro-Siberia LLC, said how the emergence of a new subspecies of "omicron" will affect the course of the pandemic.
This substrain did not cause an increase in childhood morbidity and hospitalization in general, Pozdnyakov said. True, such a favorable development of the situation may be influenced by the high level of vaccination in the Scandinavian countries.
“In general, it was treated the same way as an omicron, and from today all covid restrictions have been removed,” said Dr. Pozdnyakov.
“From the experience of Denmark, we can say that with a large percentage of vaccinated or recovering people, that is, with immune protection, the new Omicron substrain does not cause big problems. Its symptoms are similar to those of previous strains: high fever, continuous cough and again loss of smell and / or taste. At the same time, there is no increase in the number of hospitalizations," the expert noted. Nevertheless, Andrey Pozdnyakov emphasizes, in case of a disease, it is advisable to consult a doctor and undergo an examination, since the key factor in whether the disease will proceed in a severe or milder form is whether a person is immunized or not.
An interesting feature of the new version of "omicron" is that in previously immunized people, antibodies to it are produced even in greater quantities than in the case of infection with the usual "omicron". “The immune system does not have time to react in advance, so infection occurs, but then antibodies begin to be actively produced in memory cells, they work quickly, so the person recovers quickly and ceases to be contagious,” Pozdnyakov explained.
He suggested that the new substrain would not spread as quickly and massively as its predecessors.
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