A covid variant or what some may call covid 20 has been making it’s rounds in the UK. So much so that they have closed off to new entry, angering many truckers who can’t transport into the UK.
The covid variant is said to be stronger than the original strand of the virus.
“Thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we’ve detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK,” British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told reporters on Wednesday.
“This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible, and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK,” he said.
Last week, South Africa announced the discovery of a new genetic mutation of the disease. On the heels of its identification, countries around the globe began closing their borders to South Africa.
The covid variant has also been confirmed in Ireland. The Department of Health, in a statement, said the variant was likely to have been present in Northern Ireland for a period of time. Genome analysis was conducted on a small number of suspected cases, producing one positive result.
Genetic workers are concerned that the approved vaccines may not be strong enough for the variant.
(CNN)Michael Worobey, a biologist at the University of Arizona, has seen more than 100,000 different strains of the virus that causes Covid-19. But when he saw the new variant from the UK, he noticed something different.
“This is the first variant I’ve seen during the whole pandemic where I took a step back and said: ‘Whoa,’ ” he remembers.
Nevertheless, Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it expects that the immunity induced by its COVID-19 vaccine would be protective against the coronavirus variants reported in the UK.
