“What we know is that there are a large number of mutations, perhaps twice the number of mutations that we saw in the delta variant,” Javid said in a media interview.
He considered that “this indicates that it may be more transmissible and that current vaccines may be less effective.”
Public health officials in Britain expressed serious concern about the mutation, which recently spread in South Africa, because it contains twice the number of mutations in the highly contagious “delta” strain, including mutations associated with avoiding an immune response.
And the British Health Security Agency said that the strain called “B1.1.529” contains a so-called “spike protein” completely different from the protein found in the original Corona virus, which vaccines were designed to resist.
The new strain carries mutations that are likely to evade the immune response resulting from both previous infection and vaccination, as well as mutations associated with increased infection.
Scientists said that laboratory studies are needed to assess the possibility that the mutations will result in a significant decrease in the effectiveness of vaccines.
And earlier Thursday, South African scientists said they had discovered the new strain of corona in small numbers, and were working to understand its possible repercussions.
The scientists told a press conference that this strain contains a “very unusual set” of mutations, which are of concern because they may help the virus evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.
The new mutant was also found in Botswana and Hong Kong.
The British Health Security Agency said that no cases of this strain were discovered in Britain, and that its scientists are in contact with their colleagues in South Africa to see their data.
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