Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world? 9News
Scientists don't know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to Omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say.
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. "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.
Given those realities, Dr Gagandeep Kang, who studies viruses at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, said it remains to be seen if the virus will follow the same pattern of evolution in China as it has in the rest of the world after vaccines came out. "Or," she asked, "will the pattern of evolution be completely different?"
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