New COVID-19 strains: who may need revaccination in 2026
Previously vaccinated people do not have immunity to new variants of coronavirus, a microbiologist, scientific director of the N. F. NITSEM, told Izvestia. Gamalei Alexander Ginzburg. Despite the mild course of infection from Stratus and Nimbus, complications often occur against the background of coronavirus in people at risk. The scientist proposed to include coronavirus vaccination in the National Vaccination Calendar. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
How many people have covid
Those who have been vaccinated for a long time and those who have suffered a coronavirus infection do not have immunity to new strains of covid. Alexander Gintsburg, director of the N.F. Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told Izvestia about this.
— If you were vaccinated against the first "Wuhan" strain, which was in 2020, then you have excellent immunity. It is so formed that any amount of virus that you eat or inhale is fine. But it absolutely does not protect against new strains," Ginzburg said.
In the summer of 2024, Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko reported that almost all Russians were immune to coronavirus. According to him, due to the fact that COVID-19 is mutating and there are people with weakened immune systems, there are cases of the new coronavirus infection.
Ginzburg believes that the diseases began to occur in a milder form than in 2020 and 2021. However, the new strains are more contagious than the old ones, which is why the number of cases has increased. After suffering from covid, the immune system is weakened, against this background, people develop other diseases, including severe ones. They can lead to death.
According to Ginzburg, more than 3,000 people died from covid in 2024. These statistics do not include those who passed away due to another disease, the root cause of which is covid. Ginzburg suggests adding coronavirus vaccination to the National Calendar so that it becomes mandatory.
The authorities have been publishing statistics on covid cases since the spring of 2020. In the spring of 2025, due to the stabilization of the epidemiological situation, the publication of reports on COVID-19 stopped, as the virus became a seasonal disease.
As Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia, about 295.7 thousand cases of COVID-19 were registered in the country in 11 months of 2026. During the week of December 8-14, the incidence increased by 4.4% (11,455 cases). The XFG Stratus gene variant has been predominant in circulation for the last 12 weeks — 96.7%. According to WHO, the global additional risk of this variant is assessed as low. The federal service did not provide statistics on the number of deaths from infection.
—Currently, COVID-19 diseases in Russia occur mainly in mild form (94.6%),— Rospotrebnadzor assured.
The Ministry of Health had not responded to Izvestia at the time of publication.
Where does the immune system go
Doctors interviewed by Izvestia agree with Ginzburg: previously vaccinated people can get sick with new strains of coronavirus. According to Anastasia Agaeva, a therapist at the Sberbank Health medical company, thanks to immune memory cells and cross-cellular immunity, vaccinated people have protection from severe disease.
— Covid is changing rapidly and constantly, respectively, the immune response is formed to a specific strain. With its variability, the immune response is reset to zero. But the immune response is not only antibodies, but also immunocompetent cells, memory cells. Therefore, some kind of immune protection remains in humans. Coupled with the mutations of the coronavirus, which has become more contagious but less pathogenic, this combination forms a picture: most people get sick very easily, they don't go anywhere," explained Andrey Pozdnyakov, PhD, infectious diseases specialist at Invitro, and expert at the Infowork educational marketplace.
The new coronavirus strains are the result of mutations within the Omicron family, Anna Balandina, an infectious disease specialist at the European Medical Center (EMC), told Izvestia. The Omicron strain has been known since 2021, and since that time, the effectiveness of available vaccines has been tested. Experts found that the effectiveness of vaccination was lower, but not zero.
— The domestic Sputnik-V took part in these tests, it showed a fairly good result. So, vaccination forms immunity against strains of the Omicron family, but not as effective as we would like. It will not prevent a new infection, but it will make it easier to transfer the infection," Balandina said.
Nevertheless, like the flu, coronavirus can cause complications, said infectious disease specialist Evgenia Dayeva. Both influenza and covid sometimes develop pneumonia and other diseases that are rare but still lead to death.
How long does immunity last?
The peculiarity of coronavirus of any strain is the formation of unstable short—term immunity, Balandina noted. Therefore, it is difficult to create vaccines against viruses of this group. Regardless of whether immunity is obtained naturally or through vaccination, its protective properties fade after only a few months after encountering the antigen.
— The immune response persists in humans for 6 to 12 months, but only to the strain for which the vaccine was developed. As soon as the spike protein changes, the antibodies stop working because they don't recognize it, it ceases to be a target for them, and the person becomes susceptible," Pozdnyakov said.
According to him, the susceptibility of a person infected with a new strain is "common." Balandina believes that vaccination cannot prevent infection in all vaccinated people, but it can reduce the severity of the disease. This is especially important for people at risk. Their immunity takes longer to form, which increases the risk of complications.
Who is at risk and how to protect themselves
Vulnerable to covid, according to Agaeva:
people with weakened immune systems,
who have not been ill or vaccinated against coronavirus infection,
people over 60 years old,
pregnant women,
people with chronic diseases, in particular diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular, pulmonary diseases, obesity, kidney pathology,
cancer patients,
who underwent an organ transplant.
In addition, according to Balandina, people who come into contact with a large number of people, such as employees of trading floors, transport, and medical organizations, are more likely to become infected.
To protect against the new strain, Agaeva recommends getting vaccinated with the latest approved vaccine. According to her, even a vaccine against coronavirus that is imperfectly suitable for a new strain reduces the risk of hospitalization and severe course. Patients vulnerable to covid should be revaccinated 6 months after vaccination, while others should be vaccinated 12 months later.
— We do not know exactly how the wild infection will proceed in a person at risk. But we know how it will be after vaccination — it's much easier. That's why we vaccinate such people," Dayeva said.
She advises avoiding crowds of people, and if you go to a public place, keep your distance. If this is not possible, use respirator masks and treat your hands more often. And if you get sick, don't go to work.
Agayeva does not recommend donating blood for coronavirus antibodies as a routine measure for most people — there is no universal antibody level below which a person is guaranteed to get sick.
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