Scientists say the world has reached a precarious point in the Covid-19 pandemic, where conditions are ripe for the emergence of newer variants of the coronavirus that can complicate efforts to control the disease.
The virus continues to spread rapidly in many parts of the world, even with segments of the population gaining some degree of immunity as a result of being infected or vaccinated.
Scientists say the combination – high rates of viral transmission and a partially immunized population – stimulates the emergence of variants that are potentially more transmissible or lethal. More transmission means more opportunities for the virus to evolve, they say.
“If everyone has immunity, you will have practically no virus circulating and the virus will not be able to adapt,” said Bern University molecular epidemiologist Emma Hodcroft, adding that if no one in the population has immunity, there will be no pressure on the virus. to evolve. “This part of the environment, where you have a partially vaccinated population, or a partially immune population with a lot of viruses circulating, is kind of your danger point,” she said.
New variants may also reduce the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments and lead to reinfections among people who have already recovered from Covid-19, say the scientists. The key to minimizing these problems, they say, is social distance and other measures to reduce contagion, as well as increased vaccination efforts, which have lagged behind in many places.