“Cerberus”: This is the name of the new omicron sub-variant BQ 1.1 of the corona virus. How dangerous is she? Will it dominate the virus events in the future? And how well does the vaccination protect? Volker Thiel, virologist and immunologist at the University of Bern, classifies.
SRF News: There is a new Omikron variant. What do you know about it?
Volker Thiel: The new variant is on the rise in many countries, but at the moment it is still at a lower level. Other viruses tend to be more prevalent, but the new variant is spreading and the proportion is growing rapidly. It is expected to be dominant in many countries relatively soon.
How does it differ from the previous variants?
The new variant has additional mutations that evade our immune system. This is also the reason why it can spread now and will probably cause another wave. So there will be more infections.
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The vaccination also protects well against the new variant, says virologist Volker Thiel.
KEYSTONE/TI-PRESS/Samuel Golay
Can you run this? What does that mean in the context of the new variant?
In principle, it can be expected that the new variant will be dominant in a few weeks. How intense the wave will then be is difficult to say.
High infection rates are always dangerous
But high numbers of infections are always dangerous, even if we are currently observing largely mild courses. However, this is not because the virus has weakened, but because of the immunity of the population.
They predict another wave. Does that worry you?
We always worry when the number of cases is high. We still have people who are at increased risk, such as those who have pre-existing conditions. Perhaps some are not yet vaccinated and therefore do not have sufficient immunity. If the number of cases then increases, the risk is of course there again that such people will have a difficult course.
Does vaccination against the new variant help? The latest booster was developed based on old variants.
The booster still protects very well against serious illnesses. By the way, the first version of the vaccination also protects well against it. The differences are relatively small, even if the adjustments to the new variants bring something. But they are not so crucial that they make a big difference.
The conversation was conducted by Sandra Brand.