Immunologist Totolyan: Omicron in Russia may differ from it in South Africa due to race

The new strain of coronavirus “omicron” can displace the “delta”, but it is too early to draw conclusions, says Areg Totolyan, director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Pasteur.

According to RIA Novosti, Totolyan believes that theoretically this can happen, but without extensive statistics in Russia, it is impossible to talk about such a pattern.

“The statistics of other countries cannot be mechanically transferred to our country, because while it (“ omicron ”- editor’s note) reached us, it has also undergone changes like the“ delta ”. Just like delta, the strains differ slightly from a purely immunological point of view. Genetic name markers depend on race, different ethnic groups have their own specifics, so what happened in South Africa and what we have … just take their findings and transfer them to us is wrong, “Totolyan said.

The head of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Murashko, told Interfax that two Russians who contracted the omicron strain during a trip to South Africa had a mild illness. So far, Murashko noted, only these two omicron infections have been recorded in the Russian Federation. When asked how things are with the rest of the passengers on the flight, which the infected Russians flew, Murashko replied that scientists are working with their tests for covid, “sequencing is underway” to accurately determine the strain.

The new omicron coronavirus strain with increased mobility has been found in more than 55 countries, including Russia. Although the omicron has sowed panic in world markets and raised fears of a new wave of infections, the degree of its lethality remains unknown. It is expected that the number of infections with the new strain in Britain may exceed 1 million cases by the end of December.