Professor Luke O'Neill said Ireland has "nothing to worry about" following the emergence of a new Omicron sub-variant.
There has been a jump in the number of cases of this sister subtype of the Omicron virus, particularly in India and Denmark.
This new sub-type has been classified as more transmissible but less virulent compared to the other variants.
Speaking about the sub-Omicron variant, Trinity College professor of biochemistry, Luke O'Neill, said: "That’s nothing to worry about. It’s even more transmissible which is good and yet again it’s not causing severe disease.
"It’s a sibling of Omicron if you like. And it’s a really good one in a way.
"That’ll spread throughout the world and give us even more protection."
Professor O'Neill said people who contract this new sister subtype after getting the Covid-19 vaccine will get extra protection "like having a double booster".
Speaking to Claire Byrne on RTE Radio One, he added: "But we wouldn’t encourage people to get infected because there can be negative consequences.
"Some people will get very sick with this virus and that wouldn’t be advised.
"But if you do get infected post-vaccination, you shouldn’t worry too much about it because the vaccine will protect you and give you even stronger protection."
WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said yesterday that Europe could be headed for a pandemic "endgame".
He added that countries across the continent must prepare for a surge in cases next winter.
Professor O'Neill said: "That seems like a long way off but we gotta get ready now. There will be a surge next winter.
"It’s a respiratory disease like the flu and it will come back. So let’s get ready for that. But we’ve got the vaccines, we have anti-virals."
Professor O'Neill said there is work being done to develop a pan-Corona virus that will provide protection against any variant of Covid-19.
He said: "They tried to have one for the flu for a long time but didn’t quite get there.
"But with all these advances in vaccine technology means there's a really good chance we’ll have what’s called a pan-Coronavirus vaccine."
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