According to the media, the Iota coronavirus strains, which have a high death rate, can spread quicker and represent a greater threat than previous alterations. According to Izvestia, specialists are confident that it will not outperform the Delta model.
Pavel Volchkov, head of the genome engineering department at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, says there is no reason to assume the Iota strain is particularly hazardous.
According to him, this viral variety pales in comparison to the Delta strain, which has pushed nearly all other mutations out of Russia and is now aggressively spreading in Europe and the United States.
“Iota is a rather common strain. It is spreading faster than the Wuhan variation, but it cannot compete with the Delta mutation in terms of contagiousness. It is evident from open sequencing data from other nations, which is frequently released on monitoring websites. The mortality rate is somewhat greater than that of the Wuhan strain. The Delta variety, on the other hand, has a greater death rate and is more infectious, making it more hazardous. The Delta mutation is the best in every way, and no other strain can compete with it right now”, Volchkov brought this up.
The Iota variety hasn’t spread much since it was discovered last year, so it’s not particularly hazardous. Albert Rizvanov, director of the Research and Clinical Center for Precision and Regenerative Medicine at Kazan Federal University, also contributed.
“The ultimate indicator of a virus strain’s risk is its spread among the population. The Iota variation was identified in 2020, and while cases are still being reported, it has not spread significantly. It indicates that it is not easily transmitted “, according to the expert.
