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‘Variants Will Keep Emerging If People Don’t Get Vaccinated’: Top Maltese Virologist Speaks On Omicron

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Top Maltese virologist Chris Barbara has raised concerns about new variants of the COVID-19 virus which he says are yet to come – especially if people don’t get vaccinated.

During a recent interview with TVAM, he spoke about the new variant known as Omicron, which was identified in South Africa and is spreading rapidly in various countries around the world.

Barbara is the director of pathology at Mater Dei and has been front and centre of the nation’s efforts against the virus over the past two years.

He explained that ‘variants’ are other versions of the virus which result from viruses mutating or making genetic errors.

Referring specifically to the new Omicron, he said that around fifty mutations have been observed by scientists. Thirty are located on the part of the virus which allows it to enter human cells, and which is also recognised by vaccines.

However, Barbara added that while the number of cases is still on the rise, 92% of the population in Malta is vaccinated and the number of deaths and hospitalisations in Malta remained low.

Barbara went on to explain that in Italy, an engineer who was unfortunate enough to catch the new variant of COVID-19 ended up suffering from mild symptoms such as coughing and a sore throat.

The local virologist also clarified that the rapid outbreak of Omicron in South Africa stemmed from the fact that the majority of people had not been vaccinated.

This, he said, is why he keeps emphasising the need for people to take the jab.

Barbara also stressed the importance to continue following measures such as wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands regularly.

He ended by saying that though it would be extremely difficult to eradicate the pandemic completely, this does mean that with each mutation, the new variants are becoming less strong, which may ultimately result in the pandemic becoming less brutal on its victims.

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