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The new variant will be called VUI-202012/01, the first “Variant under Investigation” in the UK in December 2020. While scientists are seeking more information on the variant, its impact is already being felt.
This is what you need to know.
A variant occurs when the genetic makeup of a virus changes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.All viruses mutate over time, and new variants are common, even for the new coronavirus.
Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said this particular variant “contains 23 different changes,” which he described as an unusually large number. Whitty said the variant was responsible for 60% of new infections in London, which have nearly doubled in the last week alone.
On Monday, Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance added that he anticipated the spread of the new variant would increase after Christmas.
“As we are entering a period of inevitable mixing, I think there will be some increases in the numbers in the coming weeks,” he said, adding that local restrictions are likely to tighten rather than ease in the new year.
That finding has immediate implications for virus control. Higher numbers of cases could put even greater pressure on hospitals and healthcare workers just as they enter an already particularly difficult winter period and would ultimately lead to more deaths.
Where did the variant originate and how has it taken root?
The new variant of Covid-19 originated in southeastern England, according to the World Health Organization.
PHE has said that tracing back, using genetic evidence, suggests that the variant first emerged in England in September. It then circulated at very low levels until mid-November.
“The increase in cases related to the new variant first came to light in late November when PHE investigated why infection rates in Kent [in southeast England] they did not fall despite national restrictions. We then discovered a cluster linked to this variant that was spreading rapidly to London and Essex, “said PHE.
Several experts have also suggested that this new variant could have been amplified due to a superpreader event, meaning that the current increase in cases could also have been caused by human behavior.
“A higher genomic growth rate in the sequenced samples may not necessarily mean higher transmissibility, for example, if there was a rave of several thousand people where this variant was introduced and it infected many people mainly in that rave, this can appear very high on a lower background of the non-variant virus, “Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester, told the Science Media Center.
What countries are affected?
The variant has already spread globally. In addition to the United Kingdom, the variant has also been detected in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia, according to the WHO.
Australia has identified two cases of the variant in a quarantined area in Sydney and Italy has also identified a patient infected with the variant.
A similar but separate variant has also been identified in South Africa, where scientists say it is spreading rapidly along the country’s coastal areas.
Is it the deadliest new variant?
There is no evidence to suggest the new variant is deadlier as of now, according to Whitty, who said “urgent work” was underway on Saturday to examine the implications for mortality.
“We are not seeing any increase in virulence (clinical severity) or serious changes in the [spike protein] that will reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, until now, “Tang told the Science Media Center (SMC).
Several experts have pointed out that for some viruses, increased transmissibility can accompany declining virulence and mortality rates. This may mean that the variant is less lethal, although it is currently too early to tell.
“The new viruses will adapt to a new host over time, with decreasing mortality and possibly increasing transmissibility,” Tang said.
“As viruses are transmitted, those that allow greater virological ‘success’ can be selected, which changes the properties of the virus over time. This generally leads to greater transmission and less virulence,” Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he told SMC.
Will the vaccines developed against this variant work?
Whitty said on Saturday that current vaccines should still work against the new variant.
His comments were echoed in the United States by the head of Operation Warp Speed. “So far, I don’t think there has been a single variant that is resistant to the vaccine,” Moncef Slaoui told CNN on Sunday. “We can’t exclude it, but it’s not there now.”
The UK, the US and the EU have licensed the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and several others are in development.
What steps are being taken to contain the variant?
England’s chief medical officer has urged people in Britain to take steps to reduce the spread of the virus.
“Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission,” Whitty said Saturday.
Large swaths of England, including London and the South East, are now under strict Level 4 Covid-19 restrictions, which is just the latest disruption to a Christmas holiday overshadowed by the pandemic.
Dozens of countries in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas have also announced travel bans for the UK.
Others, like Greece and Spain, have imposed restrictions that require travelers arriving from Britain to undergo coronavirus testing or quarantine.
America’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN on Monday that he would advise against additional restrictions on travel to the UK. The United States should “certainly keep an eye on it,” Fauci said, but “we don’t want to overreact.”
