**5. Conclusions**

One of the most interesting questions is undoubtedly in which direction the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 will continue. Viruses strive for a successful dissemination and more intensive replication, which means that they evade the immune response and bypass the effects of antiviral agents. The omicron variant (and especially its subvariants) represents one of the fastest spreading viruses known. In addition, it is more successful at evading the immune response triggered by previous variants and/or available vaccines. What would be the profile of the next variant(s) to replace omicron? It is clear that the new variant must outperform the old one in order to prevail—this is achieved by bypassing the immune response and spreading efficiently, as evidenced by the evolution of new (sub)variants. From a public health perspective, the most important question is how severe the disease pattern of the next variant(s) will be and how effectively we can study the evolution of viral variants along with their impact on the drug/vaccine development in the future, with the final goal of preventing such future pandemics.
