Scientists in the UK are investigating a new variant of the coronavirus to find out if it is contributing to a more rapid spread of COVID-19 in certain parts of the country. According to Public Health England (PHE), as of December 13, 1,108 cases with this new variant had been identified, called ‘VUI – 202012/01’, since it is the first variant investigated in December.
The new coronavirus variant: how widespread is it?
On December 14, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at least 60 different local authorities, mainly in the south and east of England, had recorded COVID-19 infections caused by the new variant, the BBC reported.
Scientists tracking the genetics of the virus, from the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), released a statement on December 14 explaining that this variant has a large number of mutations. Of particular interest to scientists is the N501Y mutation, found in the Spike protein, where the coronavirus binds to receptors on host cells in the human body. The statement confirmed that “efforts are underway to confirm whether any of these mutations are contributing to further transmission.”
Is the new coronavirus variant something to worry about?
It is completely normal for a virus to mutate; seasonal flu mutates every year (which is why a new flu vaccine is also available every year). Therefore, a new strain of coronavirus is not necessarily a “worse” strain than any other.
“The virus is constantly mutating,” infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland, tells Health. “And although mutations are often part of Hollywood movies, most mutations have no functional meaning.”
This was also the message from Dr. Susan Hopkins, Acting Chief Medical Advisor to the UK National Health Service’s Test and Trace Program and PHE Joint Medical Advisor, who said, according to the PHE statement, “It is not It is unexpected that the virus must evolve and it is important that we detect any changes quickly to understand the potential risk that any variant may pose. There is currently no evidence that this strain causes more serious disease, although it is being detected across a wide geography, especially where more cases are being detected. ”
Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s emergency program, said WHO was aware of the variant. “These types of evolution and mutations are quite common,” he said during a virtual press conference on December 14. “The question, as we’ve had more recently with the mink variants in Denmark and earlier variations, is: does this make the virus more severe? Does it allow the virus to be transmitted more easily? Does it interfere in any way with the diagnosis “Will it in any way interfere with the efficacy of the vaccine? None of these questions have been addressed yet.”
UK Medical Director Professor Chris Whitty told a press conference that there is nothing to suggest that a vaccine would not work against the new strain, the BBC reported. He also confirmed that the COVID-19 swab tests currently used in the UK can detect it.
“There is still a fairly small proportion of the population [believed to] currently have immunity due to a previous infection,” Whitty said. “So there is not a lot of selection pressure on this virus. And so it would be surprising, not impossible, but quite surprising, if [the new strain] had actually evolved to be able to circumvent the vaccine.”
As the coronavirus changes and new strains become common, it is vital to track and study mutations, says Dr. Adalja. It will take scientists some time to discover the full effects of this new mutation, but at this point, there is no reason to panic.
Information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, some data may have changed since its publication. While Health tries to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and your local department of public health as resources.
