"There is no data yet that the new virus causes a more severe course of the disease or that it is resistant to the action of antibodies," RIA Novosti quoted Khafizov as saying.
According to him, the results of the initial analysis of the UK health authorities do not provide conclusive evidence of a difference in the risk of hospitalization and death between the new variant and the original "delta".
Earlier, Kamil Khafizov said that most of the Russian test systems for coronavirus are capable of detecting a new variant of the AY.4.2 delta strain.