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Following the discovery of a new strain of Covid in England earlier this month, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new variant of the coronavirus is “out of control” and that he is “really concerned” about how it will cope. will fix the country’s health service. .
Speaking at the Andrew Marr Show, Hancock said the UK faces a “huge challenge” in controlling the new strain after scientists found it could spread more quickly.
“It is out of control and we have to get it under control. I am really concerned about the NHS. There are currently just over 18,000 in NHS hospitals with coronavirus. That is just slightly below the number that was in the first peak. another reason everyone should follow the new rules and take that personal responsibility, “he said.
Following this stark warning, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have already banned passenger flights from Britain, and the Irish government is expected to make an announcement later today.
The new variant of Covid-19 is already having an impact and this is what some of the experts have previously said about it.
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To begin with, it is worth noting that there have already been several strains of Covid-19 with no fatal consequences for humans. That is the nature of a disease, to evolve.
For example, the Danish government euthanized millions of minks after it became known that hundreds of Covid-19 cases were associated with Sars-CoV-2 variants carried by farm mink.
The new variant, which has been named VUI-202012/01 (the first variant under investigation in December 2020), is believed to have first occurred in mid-September in south-east England, in the capital London, or in the county from Kent.
As of Sunday, just over 1,100 COVID-19 cases had been identified with the new variant, according to a statement from Public Health England.
However, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said that while the new variant of the virus may spread more rapidly, there is currently no evidence that the new strain causes higher mortality rates or that it has affected vaccines and treatments.
However, he said “urgent work” is already being done to confirm this.
He also warned that it was “more vital than ever” that people continue to take steps to reduce the spread of the virus.
Professor Whitty said the UK has already informed the World Health Organization that the new variant of the coronavirus may spread more rapidly.
The WHO responded by saying: “We are in close contact with UK officials about the new variant of the Covid-19 virus. They will continue to share information and results of their ongoing analyzes and studies. We will update Member States and the public as we go along. Let’s learn more about the characteristics of this virus variant and its implications.
“In the meantime, we continue to advise people to take all protective measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus and to comply with the guidelines of national authorities.”
Found in Ireland?
The director of the National Virus Research Laboratory, Dr. Cillian de Gascun, previously said that the new strain of the virus has not been detected here.
Dr de Gascun said authorities are vigilant and constantly monitoring any signs that the new strain has reached Irish shores.
“We will continue to do genome surveillance to identify the virus should it arrive in Ireland. If we have cases in people who have returned from the UK, we will work with our public health colleagues to identify those cases and prioritize them for sequencing,” he said.
Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health for HSE in the Midwest region, also said that it is too early to really say what difference, if any, this new strain will make in Ireland.
Speaking about RTE’s Drivetime, Dr. Mannix said vigilance and caution are being applied.
“I think anyone who hears that story, at first, would be concerned about a new strain of any virus, not to mention the coronavirus, but we are lucky, I suppose, that the UK has all those modern genomic capabilities and advanced medical technology, and they are able to quickly identify these new strains.
“It is another example of how complex this virus is. Like you, I just heard this story and I know my colleagues and I will be watching this unfolding story very closely to understand more about this new strain.”
The vaccine and the impact of the new strain
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the latest clinical advice is that this mutation is highly unlikely to not respond to a vaccine.
However, more tests are underway.
Ewan Birney, deputy director general of the European Laboratory for Molecular Biology and deputy director of its European Institute of Bioinformatics in Cambridge, has said that the new variant has not had a major impact on the number of infections.
“If the new variant was going to have a big impact on the severity of the disease, we would have already seen it. Hospital cases as a proportion of the number of infections would have skyrocketed or decreased dramatically. Neither has happened, so we can conclude that the impact on the number of severe cases is probably modest – a little more or a little less. “
What happens next
Scientists grow the new strain in labs, study its antibody responses, and then test its cross-reactions with Covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, UK scientists will also study samples of Covid across the country to see how quickly the new strain can spread. This will take at least two weeks.
As for Ireland, the government is expected to make an announcement on flights heading to and from the UK.
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