“Scientific studies in South Africa show that people, especially those with weakened immune systems, can become infected with two strains at once. This is possible now, given the number of infections that we see,” said Paul Burton, chief medical officer of the pharmaceutical company Moderna.
He said that simultaneous infection with the two strains could lead to an even more contagious variant.
“In the coming months, these two strains will coexist, and the omicron will begin to infect people against the background of a very difficult situation with the” delta. “This could lead to situations where people will be infected with two variants, which allows these viruses to further evolve and mutate. This situation raises concerns, “- said the specialist.
According to experts, both strains can infect the same cell and thus mutate, but the likelihood of such a development of events is assessed as extremely low.
During the entire time of the pandemic, three cases of the so-called recombination of strains were identified, which ultimately did not lead to the emergence of a new mutation and did not cause a new outbreak of infection.
The World Health Organization did not rule out that the new strain could change the course of the pandemic. The organization explained that the number of mutations in the Omicron strain is unprecedented, it may be more infectious than previously detected infection variants.
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