The world is preparing for the third wave of the COVID-19, and an expert has now warned about a new emerging variant in 2022. According to Immunologist Professor Doctor Sai Reddy, the public has to be ready for this new variant as it could be a "big risk".
Doctor Sai Reddy, who is a Zurich-based scientist said that it was "inevitable" for the virus to combine and make a deadlier strain of virus, especially with variants like,
- Delta (India) + Beta (South African) + Gamma (Brazil).
Reddy used the term "COVID-22" to describe the possibility of an "inevitable" future variant. "Is the next phase of the pandemic when Beta or Gamma become more infectious or Delta develops escape mutations?" he said. "That will be the big problem for the coming year. COVID-22 could get worse than what we are witnessing now." If such a variant appears, we have to recognize it as early as possible and the vaccine manufacturers have to adapt the vaccine quickly. The emergence of this new variant is a big risk. We have to prepare for it."
It is only natural for a virus to evolve and therefore experts warn that COVID variants will keep on rising in the future. the group of scientists advising the UK Government, in a paper published on July 30 said that there was a strong possibility of Covid becoming more deadly, terming it a "realistic possibility". Dr Chris Smith, consultant virologist, and lecturer at Cambridge University, while speaking on BBC Breakfast, said, "We all agree that (the pandemic) is not over until it is over in every corner of the world because otherwise, it will just come roaring back."
Dr Smith further added, "Don't forget we think that this started with a handful of cases in one city, in one corner of one country… and it then eclipsed the entire world. But one must not take one’s eye off the ball here because it would be very easy to unstitch all of the good work we’ve done so far if it turns out with the time we do lose immunity because the vaccines wane in their effectiveness."
References:
- Material provided by DNA India.
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