The virologist spoke about the current situation with coronavirus infection in Russia

Coronavirus infection continues to remain active in the overall incidence structure, demonstrating the ability to periodically evade the immune response due to changes in the antigenic structure. This was announced on October 23 by Elena Malinnikova, Head of the Department of Virology at the Russian Ministry of Health, at the Izvestia Press center during a press conference on: "Prevention of seasonal diseases in the autumn period".

According to the expert, the omicron strain is currently circulating in the population, which, despite its antigenic changes, does not cause as many severe forms of the disease as during the pandemic period.

"But SARS-CoV-2 as such, of course, has made certain changes and this new variant has appeared, which periodically changes its antigenic structure, turning into a variety of variants. <...> As the virus was actively changing, various recombinations of this virus took place," the expert pointed out.

Malinnikova noted that she avoids using the term "mutations" because during the pandemic many people began to interpret this concept unprofessionally, not understanding the real mechanisms of virus variability.

Despite the decrease in the severity of the disease compared to the peak periods of the pandemic, as the virologist emphasized, controlling the spread of infection continues to be an important task for the healthcare system. The current circulating strain retains the ability to overcome the immune barrier, which necessitates maintaining attention to the epidemiological situation.

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On August 23, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, reported 384 cases of infection with a new variant of coronavirus Stratus in the Russian Federation, and also added that the number is growing. She clarified that the fact that the new strain is more contagious is due to the need for it to change and acquire new properties.

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