Medic comments on ‘Kraken’ Covid strain

There is no reason to panic over a new Covid-19 variant spreading across the world, Russian infectious disease specialist Sergey Voznesensky has said. Earlier, the World Health Organization declared the Omicron subvariant XBB 1.5, dubbed ‘Kraken,’ the “most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet.”

While ‘Kraken’ is more contagious, it only causes a mild disease, Voznesensky told the Moskva City News Agency, adding that there is “no reason” to expect any abrupt, adverse changes in the epidemiological situation in Russia.

All Omicron subvariants have two things in common, Voznesensky, who is associate professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, explained.

“They are more transmissible than all previous variants… and they cause a milder form of the disease,” he said, adding that “we have absolutely nothing to fear.”

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