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Russia reports COVID-19 variant believed to be more contagious than Delta
It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying.
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ussia has reported some COVID-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one, the RIA news agency said on Thursday.
It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying.
That could cause the rate of new COVID-19 cases, already at record highs in Russia, to rise even further, Reuters reported.
The new variant could even replace Delta eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, he said.
While the pandemic is receding in many Western countries, Russia's outbreak is worse than ever, with authorities saying the latest surge of the virus has spread at its most rapid pace yet among a population that is only 35-percent fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday morning, Russia set its sixth record in seven days for coronavirus deaths over 24 hours.
By the afternoon, President Vladimir Putin had ordered a nationwide week-long paid holiday starting from Oct. 30 to curb infections, calling on Russians to show "responsibility" and get one of the country's several jabs that have been available for months for free.
But the surging caseload has come with no real pandemic restrictions in place, and with more than a week left until the holiday – a measure that has been criticized by experts as ineffective – coronavirus patients will continue packing Moscow's hospitals, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) is still assessing the Russia-designed Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, according to an update on the WHO's website on Wednesday.
"As with other candidate vaccines, WHO continues to assess Sputnik V vaccines from different manufacturing sites and will publish decisions on their EUL [Emergency Use Listing] status when all the data are available and the review is concluded," WHO said in emailed comments to Reuters.
It said it has restarted the assessment process for the Russian vaccine and that it is awaiting the "completion of rolling submission."
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which promotes Sputnik V abroad, said a group of WHO inspectors is due to visit Russia shortly "to round up all necessary inspections and paperwork on Sputnik V."
Separately, Kirill Dmitriev, the RDIF head, told CNN he expected the WHO to approve Sputnik V in coming months, RIA news agency reported.
The WHO said in July its review of how Russia produces the Sputnik V vaccine had found some issues with the filling of vials at one plant. The manufacturer said it had since addressed all of the WHO's concerns.
RDIF has funded COVID-19 testing systems, drugs and vaccines. RDIF supports the development of the Sputnik V vaccine by the Gamaleya Center and is investing in mass production of the vaccine.
