The situation with coronavirus in Russia in the coming year may develop in two scenarios. This RIA Novosti was told by the candidate of medical sciences, associate professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases RUDN Sergey Voznesensky .
According to him, in the first version, the virus will not mutate and with an increase in the number of vaccinated, the epidemic will end. Otherwise, if mutated, the virus will become a seasonal flu-like illness, the vaccine for which will need to be updated annually.
A new mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in South Africa in mid-December 2020. A previously unknown species of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the country was named 501.V2. The South African Minister of Health emphasized that the second wave of coronavirus in the country is probably associated with this mutation of the disease.
Prior to this, a dangerous mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in the UK in September, but it began to actively spread in December. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new strain could be 70 percent more contagious. The mutation affected the area of the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus, which is responsible for attaching to cells located in the mucous membrane of the lungs and a number of other organs.