The Ministry of Health of Ukraine announced the discovery of three cases of a new subvariant of the 'Omicron' coronavirus, which was named 'FLiRT'. This variant is characterized by faster transmission and an ability to better evade the body's immune response, which has raised concerns among medical experts and the public.
The new subvariant of the "Omicron" - "FLiRT" coronavirus is preliminarily characterized by the fact that it is transmitted even faster from person to person and escapes the immune response to an even greater extent. This means that a person who has not received a booster dose of the vaccine has a higher risk of getting sick.
This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Health - Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin on the air of the telethon.
Kuzin noted that in the last few months there has been an increase in absolute morbidity rates in Ukraine. He reminded that three cases of a new subvariant of the "Omicron" - "FLiRT" coronavirus were registered last week, which had not previously been found in Ukraine.
This is one of the subvariants, which is pre-characterized by the fact that it is transmitted even faster from person to person and is even more dependent on the immune response. This means that a person who has not received a booster dose of the vaccine has a higher risk of getting sick if they have an up-to-date level of immunity against COVID-19 due to vaccination
He said that despite the fact that official risk assessments have not yet been provided, there is a message from the WHO that the current vaccine used in Ukraine and in the world is equally effective against this "FLiRT" strain.
"Therefore, vaccination is available, there is a vaccine on the territory of Ukraine - more than half a million doses. That is, the vaccine itself remains an effective tool," Kuzin said.
He also reported that the general symptoms of "FLiRT" are an increase in body temperature, mainly in the first days of the disease, cough. Headache, muscle fatigue may occur and these symptoms are common to any strain.
