In the new strain COVID-19 “Pirola” there are about 30 mutations in the S proteinthat it is simply not possible for existing antibodies to protect a patient from the virus, said an infectious disease doctor, chief physician of the clinical diagnostic laboratory of Invitro-Siberia LLC, Ph.D. Andrey Pozdnyakov.

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According to Pozdnyakov, antibodies simply will not have time to react to the new strain.

“All these mutations are aimed at the most effective attachment and implementation of the virus inside the cell and, accordingly, the most effective evasion of the immune response, both nonspecific and the one that was induced by previous strains of coronavirus,” the doctor explained.Izvestia”.

At the same time, the virus does not have sharply distinctive symptoms from previous strains, Pozdnyakov emphasized. In addition, it can be easily confused with a regular ARVI, which complicates diagnosis. Patients complain about cough, runny nose, temperature. Even the loss of smell common to other coronavirus variants is rare.

“In rare cases, loss of smell is possible, but this is again typical for all strains. Also, there is no information yet that Pirola is more severe than the previous Omicron substrains,” the doctor concluded.