In the states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, education will start again on Monday, but the number of corona infections is already increasing. The reason for this is new, more contagious variants of the virus called KP.3. and especially KP3.1.1. In 25 percent of the suspected cases an infection is registered.
The summer corona wave is dominated by the KP.3 variant, virologist Judit Aberle, who heads a research group at the Center for Virology at MedUni Vienna that focuses on immune responses to viral infections and vaccinations, told radio station Ö3.
It is especially recommended that people over 60 years old who have previous illnesses get vaccinated against Covid-19. To prevent infections, it is important to stay home if you have symptoms, says expert Aberle.
Variant penetrates cells faster
In early July, the KP.3 variant – a sublineage of the JN.1 variant with mutations on the spike protein – was detected in almost 48 percent of infected people in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports. This means that the KP.3 variant can apparently evade the immune system more easily, enter cells more quickly and multiply faster.
Especially in the US, Australia and now also in Italy, the KP.3 variant is held responsible for the increase in the number of Covid cases and the increase in the number of hospitalizations. In the United States, KP.3.1.1 was responsible for more than a third of the new Covid cases in the first half of August. This is evident from data from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Experts strongly recommend encouraging
At the end of July, molecular biologist Ulrich Elling had already said, given the significantly increased corona wastewater levels, that a high plateau of Covid infections could possibly occur as early as late summer.
As a result, the winter wave will probably not have such a high peak as last December. But this was highly speculative and still uncertain, Elling said at the time. He therefore advised not to wait until winter for the booster vaccinations.
Source: Krone
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