The Emergence of New COVID Variant Raises Concerns as Autumn Approaches

The autumn of 2020 still lingers fresh in people's minds when the world was shaken by the outbreak of the coronavirus. It seemed like life was coming to an end. Cities worldwide were locked down, and people became fearful of one another. Now, once again, the autumn season is approaching, and a new variant of the coronavirus, known as 5-EG, or ERIS, is causing concern worldwide. It is said to be related to the previous "Omicron" variant. However, while the World Health Organization has not declared this variant as highly dangerous, it is categorized as a "Variant of Interest," which means it should not be overlooked.

Will the coming Winter face COVID again?

The University of Glasgow's Centre for Virus Research, during the global pandemic of COVID-19, played a significant role in monitoring new strains of the disease. Professor Massimo Balmarini, the head of this center, states that although the current situation is not highly alarming, it is essential to continue monitoring this virus. If this vigilance is discontinued, predicting which variant of the virus may spread more rapidly and become more concerning to others will become difficult. Obtaining accurate data on COVID cases has become more challenging.

In Scotland, public health officials report only the number of patients with COVID and those admitted to hospitals in their weekly statistics. From this data, it is evident that there has been a significant increase in the number of patients since the beginning of July, but it does not tell us how COVID-19 is spreading in society. Dr. Antonia Ho, an expert in infectious diseases at this research center, says that we are not well informed about what is happening in the community, and large-scale testing is not currently being conducted. Monitoring patients is crucial for identifying new strains of this virus. Likewise, we can develop vaccines for prevention.