Evangelos Manolopoulos, a professor of Pharmacology at Democritus University, appeared on SKAI and the show “SK Parea” reassuring about the new Omicron mutation, noting that there is still no data on how contagious and dangerous it is. He noted that the more the virus mutates, the weaker it becomes.
“Many mutations are not bad, because a virus that mutates too much, at some point is destroyed, will lose its functionality. “So, all these mutations are of concern to us, but it is also a possible way for the weakening of the virus”, he clarified.
As for the Omicron variant, he said that scientists are waiting for the data. “All countries are preparing, but it is not clear that it is so dangerous. It is too early to say how contagious it is and how serious the disease is, “he said, adding that existing tests are not enough to detect new mutations, explaining that the entire virus must be sequenced.
Commenting on the fact that 60 of the 600 passengers who traveled from South Africa to Amsterdam were found to be positive, he expressed the view that the new mutation should not be particularly aggravating, as all those who boarded the plane were asymptomatic.
The only thing that should be of concern, according to Mr. Manolopoulos, is whether it is covered by the available vaccines, emphasizing that their effectiveness in the laboratory can only be done with hypotheses and that in practice it will be seen if people who are vaccinated are positive. in mutation.
However, he clarified that so far those who have been vaccinated in the third dose, we have no cases of re-infection, in the case of the Delta mutation. “So they are also protected from transmission to a large extent because they have a very high antibody titer,” he explained.
Regarding the course of the pandemic in the country, the professor of Pharmacology stated that no drastic measures have been taken, however he expressed the hope that they will pay off. “When you are in a situation with too many cases, you find it difficult to limit it even with strict measures,” he said, adding that the only way to reduce cases is to take stricter measures. “There are two options:. To increase the lockdowns, in order to limit the mobility of the unvaccinated in all areas. “I hope we do not go into a total lockdown, because it would be unfair and a complete failure of the approaches,” he said.
Many mutations are not bad, because a virus that mutates too much, at some point is destroyed, will lose its functionality. So, all these mutations are worrying us, but it is also a possible way to weaken the virus.
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