[ad_1]
Oxford’s Daniel Alhambra also said it is too early to say whether the variant is the cause of the increase in cases in Germany, Italy and Spain.
Barcelona (Spain), Dec 20 (EFE) .- A New variant of coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom it may have infected people in several European countries in recent weeks, scientist Daniel Prieto Alhambra, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the British University of Oxford, said on Sunday.
Around 20 million people have been confined to London and its metropolitan area for a week due to the increase in the number of covid-19 cases, apparently due to the mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which the UK reported to the World Organization. of Health (WHO).
Read: Coronavirus mutation: what is known about the new variant announced by the United Kingdom
To a Spanish radio station, Prieto Alhambra explained that a month ago there was already talk in the scientific field of a possible mutation of the virus, which would now be more contagious, a change that would have been detected in several European countries.
The researcher stated that it is still too early to say if the variant is the cause of the sudden increase in cases in London, Germany, Italy and Spain, but stressed that the new strain is almost certainly in several nations of the Old Continent. .
See also: Coronavirus mutation is out of control, says British minister
A member of the expert council that advises the European Medicines Agency on vaccines against the virus, Prieto Alhambra said that the first indications are that the change occurred in the virus’s protein S, which allows it to adhere better and, consequently, be more contagious.
If the theory is confirmed, according to the scientist, it will be necessary to vaccinate more people to achieve the so-called “herd immunity.” Also, if there are more asymptomatic people than studies now point to, vaccine doses are being wasted on already infected people.
More: Countries veto flights to UK after coronavirus mutation
He also predicted that, in any case, it will not be possible to speak of the pandemic beginning to be controlled for half a year and asked that everyone be immunized. “It is safer to get immunity from being vaccinated than from being infected,” he argued.
