Most likely yes, but will it be more dangerous? Who knows.
The Omicron variant has hit the world with a flurry of activity, sending case numbers of COVID-19 skyrocketing to their highest heights yet throughout the pandemic. In many places, the number of people needing intensive care for their illness thankfully hasn’t matched this surge. Yet with case counts so very high, the populations in intensive care units are still relatively large, mirroring the numbers seen in previous waves.
Will there be another variant that sends us running for the hills? Here’s what we know.
What the WHO Says
A recent report on CNBC.com describes the trepidation with which officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) are viewing the current global pandemic. The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus says the situation is “nowhere near over.” Other officials are warning that with so many people catching the virus worldwide and many cases going unreported, the virus has a greater opportunity to mutate and evolve into another risky variant.
“We’re hearing a lot of people suggest that omicron is the last variant, that it’s over after this,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 technical lead with the WHO. “…that is not the case because this virus is circulating at a very intense level around the world.”
In light of this, Van Kerkhove believes that governments shouldn’t relax health measures and that people should continue physical distancing and masking in public.
“We don’t fully understand the consequences of letting this thing run,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior official with the WHO.
Could There be a Worse Variant?
So, will things get worse? No one knows, even the experts. Here’s what we can tell you. Nature.com has a comprehensive article that outlines how the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been mutating so far. Some scientists have compared the virus’ path to that of a seasonal coronavirus labeled 229E, which has been studied with samples dating back to the 1980s. This virus is one of those common colds that you catch multiple times throughout your life. It was found that people retain a certain level of immunity against this virus for a while but as the decades pass, this wanes. Scientists think this is because 229E is constantly evolving to escape the powers of the human immune system.
Related: How the Pandemic Has Increased Problem Drinking
Nature.com didn’t mention whether this virus is causing more severe illness or not but it seems 229E is still a common cold that most people can kick pretty quickly. If SARS-CoV-2 mutates enough to become a similar virus, it could end up being something kids get at school and pass around but that doesn’t land people in the hospital fighting for their life.
All things being considered, however, as Andrew Rambaut, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Edinburgh told Nature.com, “There may be multiple directions that the virus can go in, and the virus hasn’t committed.”
When Will the Pandemic End?
How long will it take for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to mutate into something less severe and serious for humans? And will this ever happen? These questions remain unanswered. Many experts believe the illness causing this pandemic will become endemic as mentioned above and grow to become the fifth coronavirus permanently part of the human population as a seasonal sickness.
Whether SARS-CoV-2 modifies itself to become a simple common cold, a flu, or something more serious that we don’t yet have a category for, remains uncertain. Global vaccination could stop the virus from evolving and persisting, or it could do something else. As restrictions are lifted and more people catch COVID-19, this gives the virus increased chances to morph into something that can beat vaccine immunity. So, no one really knows yet how and when the pandemic will end.
Will there be another variant of the novel coronavirus? Yes, most certainly. Will it be more dangerous than Omicron? Maybe, and maybe not. We’re crossing our fingers that it won’t be and hoping for the best.
photo credits: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com
