Wow! I miss a free and fair press that asks relevant questions.<p>This exchange would NEVER happen in North America:<p>DER SPIEGEL: Is it also possible that the next variant will already be here before you even start production?<p>Şahin: I've been thinking hard over the past few days about why we're actually seeing a variant like Omicron right now, what caused it. In doing so, I remembered being concerned about one thing earlier this year: In people with suppressed immune systems, the virus might get too much time to accumulate mutations and evolve. It appears to me that this is exactly what happened with Omicron: The virus has been able to undergo a prolonged evolution in a small group of people.<p>DER SPIEGEL: Was that an unfortunate coincidence, or are such strongly mutated variants a constant threat?<p>Şahin: It certainly could happen more often. Basically, it’s like this: Once Omicron spreads, the virus variant that comes after it will have to come up with something new to make the leap into the next generation. We would then be constantly facing a new pathogen.