COVID Latest News: As the cases continue to surge in China, experts are worried about the fresh mutation of the virus which may result in the emergence of a new variant which is deadlier. Scientists fear that it could be similar to omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say.
As the cases see a spike, the chances of further mutation of the virus have increased. “China has a population that is very large and there’s limited immunity. And that seems to be the setting in which we may see an explosion of a new variant,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University.
With China being a hugely populated country with poor immunity against the virus, it offers a fertile ground for the virus to mutate, experts believe. “When we’ve seen big waves of infection, it’s often followed by new variants being generated,” Ray said.
Big Waves Followed By New Variants: Experts
Three years ago when the virus spread to the rest of the world from China, a new delta version emerged. followed by omicron and its descendants, which continue plaguing the world today.
Dr. Shan-Lu Liu, who studies viruses at Ohio State University, said many existing omicron variants have been detected in China, including BF.7, which is extremely adept at evading immunity and is believed to be driving the current surge.
Experts said a partially immune population like China’s puts particular pressure on the virus to change. Ray compared the virus to a boxer that “learns to evade the skills that you have and adapt to get around those.”
‘Immunity Holds The Key As Virus Unlikely To Get Milder’
Experts say there’s no inherent biological reason the virus has to become milder over time.
“Much of the mildness we’ve experienced over the past six to 12 months in many parts of the world has been due to accumulated immunity either through vaccination or infection, not because the virus has changed” in severity, Ray said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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