Experts remain watchful of new COVID-19 variants as the pandemic continues.
It remains unclear when the pandemic will end. This leads many people to wonder whether COVID-19 variants will continue to mutate or evolve.
If they do, will the new strains become more infectious and deadlier? Will they evade protection that the public obtained from either vaccination or infection?
Scientists and experts have shared their thoughts, as well as their take on the matter. Several publications, including Fox News, released a report detailing the assertions. As claimed, new COVID-19 variants will continue to emerge amid the coronavirus pandemic.
What experts say
As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, it only means that the COVID-19-causing virus continues to infect individuals. Eventually, new COVID-19 variants will emerge as it remains in circulation among the public.
Tufts Now published an interview with one of Tufts’ researchers, explaining how the virus mutates, creating more variants. As noted, viruses, in general, invade living cells and “hijack their machinery to get energy and replicate.”
They find ways, as well, to infect other living organisms. Upon doing so, the process of hijacking and replicating starts all over again. Hence, the more the virus infects, the more replication takes place and the more risk of seeing new variants emerging.
Are new COVID-19 variants deadlier?
But, while new COVID-19 variants will continue to emerge, this does not reportedly mean that they will have the “same frequency” as their original strains. New emerging variants do not necessarily mean that they are “more hazardous.”
There is a possibility, though, that they could become more infectious. However, experts believe that there is “no evolutionary reason” for them to become much deadlier.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Dr. Adam Lauring of the University of Michigan asserted that the public has seen a “stage of rapid evolution for the virus.” But, despite this, “there is not an infinite number of things it can do.”
About the new Delta strain
The talks of new and emerging variants have seemingly become apparent these past few days. This is because some countries have been recording new cases of the new Delta “offshoot.”
On Friday, England’s health authority said that it was monitoring the AY.4.2 variant. This came as the new Delta strain had infected more individuals in recent weeks.
While scientists have since begun to watch the new strain closely, many experts stated that the cause of concern was not immediate. Nevertheless, they are keeping an eye on the Delta sub-variant, as well as all the other emerging new COVID-19 variants.
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