It’s not a secret that some optimistic public voices are saying that Omicron will be the last major COVID variant. They add faith in the theory that the ongoing pandemic is approaching its end, along with all of the restrictions and lockdowns that countries across the world have imposed.
But others are far from being so optimistic. As Omicron causes a rampant surge in infections in the US and European countries, other dangerous COVID variants could come next, according to AP News.
Every infection means a chance for the virus to mutate
Despite the large number of vaccines given to people across the world, the Omicron variant spreads way faster than previous strains. This is dangerous not only because it makes the virus spread faster and causes severe illness to some of those infected. The spread itself also grants the coronavirus more chances to mutate and lead to other strains.
Leonardo Martinez, who’s an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University, confirms it by declaring, as quoted by AP News:
The faster omicron spreads, the more opportunities there are for mutation, potentially leading to more variants.
Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, who’s an infectious disease expert from Johns Hopkins University, declared as quoted by the same source:
It’s the longer, persistent infections that seem to be the most likely breeding grounds for new variants,
It’s only when you have very widespread infection that you’re going to provide the opportunity for that to occur.
Scientists also say that there’s no guarantee for the future variants post-Omicron to cause milder illness, neither if the existing vaccines will work against them. As expected, they’re rooting for wider vaccination in the present, as the current vaccines are considered to be effective enough against Omicron and other COVID variants.
