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The question is also whether this variant of the virus will respond well to Covid-19 vaccines.
British health chief Chris Whitty said yesterday (December 19) that a new strain surfacing in the UK could spread faster and health officials are urgently trying to determine if the cause. the death rate is greater than zero. A new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is believed to be associated with a rapidly increasing infection rate in south-east England. Initial analysis showed that this variant was growing faster than previous variants.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “There is a lot of evidence that the new virus is spreading much faster than the strains we have been dealing with so far. It is 70% more contagious than the previous variants.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also called an ad hoc meeting with ministers to discuss how to stop the spread of the new variant. The Dutch government yesterday banned all passenger flights from the UK between now and January 1, 2021, after it discovered a new case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Netherlands.
In South Africa, a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has also emerged and is believed to be involved in a second wave of infections affecting mainly the country’s youth. The South African Ministry of Health has sent details about the 501.V2 variant to the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization Covid-19 technical team leader Maria Van Kerkhove said the SARS-CoV-2 virus often changes over time. Now medical experts are determining how dangerous the new variant is.
“We are having discussions with researchers in South Africa about new variants. This is a virus that mutates and all viruses change over time, which we can predict. We are currently analyzing these changes, ”said Maria Van Kerkhove.
Variants emerged when the UK and many countries around the world began a large-scale Covid-19 vaccination campaign. However, the scientists said, it is likely that the new variant will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, because when developing the vaccine, researchers also understand the mechanism of the virus change and take it into account in its activity. preparation.
While reassuring people not to worry too much about new variants at this stage, scientists still need to increase vigilance, including wearing masks, washing their hands frequently, and caring for them. Social isolation to protect their own health./.
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