The member of the Advisory Scientific Committee, Professor of Microbiology / Molecular Virology of the Medical School of the University of Nicosia, Dr. Petros Karagiannis, spoke about the Omicron mutation and the cases in schools on the Front Page and in the morning show of Radio Proto.
Initially, referring to the issue of transmissibility, he explained that it is 500 times more contagious while Delta was 60 times more than the previous executives. We are dealing with a "super" contagious strain but I want to expect to see how this strain will behave.
Asked if the mutation could be treated with existing vaccines, she said: "We do not know yet, at this time Pfizer has announced that it has isolated the virus and is cultivating it and will mix it with antibodies to see exactly how effective it is. The same will happen with the companies that made the monoclons ".
Asked about the measures concerning children in Cyprus, he explained that the mask for children was a recommendation of the TEU based on the data. In countries where it was mandatory for children, it had a positive effect. When 31% of cases are in children under 18, what else do these people want? The National Report shows that 14% of the cases are in primary schools, 14% in secondary schools and 5% in children under 5 years old ".
Speaking to Radio Proto, he said that mutations could eventually weaken the virus, explaining that this is the mechanism by which the virus adapts to its host.
Thus, the Omicron mutation may be a "positive" development, in the sense that it will contribute to the increase of the herd immunity without particular problems. The large number of mutations may not have some effect on the virus.