MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. The iota variant of SARS-CoV-2 does not pose a serious risk and has not been detected in Russia, Dmitry Lioznov, Director of the Russian Health Ministry’s Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza, told reporters on Wednesday.
"The iota coronavirus strain poses no serious threat now. This variant was identified mostly in the United States, in particular in New York and some other states, and in Europe. It has not been detected in the Russian Federation," Lioznov said.
The medRxiv preprint server published the study carried out by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. The study says that the transmission rate of the Iota variant, which was first identified in New York in the autumn of 2020, is 15 - 25% higher than that of other strains.
"The results presented in the article do not indicate extremely high mortality rates from the iota variant. It is noted that individuals aged over 65 are likely to face adverse disease outcomes. The conclusions presented in the publication are preliminary and are to be verified in additional studies," the head of the St. Petersburg-based Research Institute of Influenza explained.
Lioznov said that, according to updates, the world recorded about 28,000 cases of this variant. According to the expert, this could be compared to the spread of AT1, which had been identified in northwestern Russia but was rapidly replaced with other variants.