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Centaurus spread in Russia depends on immunity to other Omicron sub-variants — expert

He emphasized that all Omicron sub-variants are similar to each other

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The spread of the BA.2.75 sub-variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ Omicron strain, or the so-called Centaurus, in Russia will depend on the immunity in people who have been infected with other Omicron sub-variants, Scientific Director of the Mechnikov Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums Vitaly Zverev told TASS on Saturday.

Over the past two weeks, only one case of infection with the Centaurus sub-variant has been identified in Russia, the press service of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare reported on Tuesday.

"I said two years ago that when 80% of people contract this virus (coronavirus - TASS), everything will quiet down. Then there won't be any significant spikes and no need for significant action. Not everybody contracted it to date, but I believe that the so-called population immunity is actually pretty strong. So, if the Centaurus appeared in a location where people had already contracted other sub-variants of Omicron, it would not spread as swiftly," Zverev said.

He emphasized that all Omicron sub-variants are similar to each other.

Russia’s anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Russia grew by 28,694 over the past day. Meanwhile, coronavirus recoveries in Russia grew by 16,874 in the past 24 hours compared to 14,320 a day before, totaling 18,121,135, the latest figures suggest.

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