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GENEVA: The World Health Organization is aware of reports that a new variant of Covid-19 has been identified in the UK, although there is no evidence to suggest that the mutation will affect the effectiveness of vaccines against the disease. WHO Health Emergencies, Executive Director Mike Ryan said Monday.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced earlier in the day that a new variant of Covid-19 had been identified in southern England and was responsible for approximately 1,000 cases.
“We are aware of this genetic variant which I think was reported in about 1,000 people in England, and the UK authorities under the leadership of Matt Hancock are obviously looking at the significance of this,” Ryan told a virtual press conference for the WHO.
According to the WHO official, there was no evidence to suggest that the new variant of the disease would spread more easily or undermine the Covid-19 vaccines that are being rolled out.
“Does this make this virus more serious? Does it allow the virus to spread more easily? Does it interfere in any way with the diagnosis? Will it interfere in any way with the effectiveness of the vaccine? None of these questions have been addressed yet , and we have no information to suggest that any of that is the case, “Ryan commented.
During his appearance in parliament earlier in the day, Hancock also revealed that London will move to the country’s highest coronavirus disease alert level from Wednesday, amid a surge in new cases in the UK capital. .
The UK started its mass vaccination program, using a vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, last Tuesday.
