Experts are concerned about the virus’s mutation, which could lead to the emergence of a new, deadlier variant of the virus, as COVID-19 cases increase in China, Japan, France, and other parts of the world. According to scientists, the new variant could be a hybrid of two strains or a completely new strain.
“China has a large population with limited immunity. And that appears to be the setting for an outbreak of a new variant,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University.
According to experts, China has a large population and people with low immunity, which makes China an ideal place for the virus to mutate. “When we’ve seen large waves of infection, it’s often followed by the generation of new variants,” Ray explained.
It should be noted that when coronavirus spread from China three years ago, a new strain of the virus called Delta emerged, followed by Omicron and some other strains that are still causing concern around the world.
Dr. Shan-Lu Liu, a virus researcher at Ohio State University, claims that China is home to several Omicron variants, including BF.7. According to Shan-Lu, BF.7 is extremely adept at evading immunity and is currently wreaking havoc across China.