Coronavirus: UK detects new strain, WHO says no evidence it interferes with vaccine effectiveness
Over 1,000 cases of the new variant of the virus have been detected in the south of England.
The World Health Organization on Monday said that it was aware of a new strain of the Covid-19 virus, reported ANI. But, there was no evidence yet to suggest if the mutation would affect the effectiveness of vaccines or make the virus more lethal, WHO Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Mike Ryan said.
“Does this make this virus more serious,” Ryan asked at a virtual press conference. “Does it allow the virus to transmit more easily? Does it in any way interfere with diagnostics? Would it in any way interfere with vaccine effectiveness? None of these questions have been addressed yet, and we have no information to suggest that any of that is the case.”
Meanwhile, the health body’s Covid-19 Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove has said there was no evidence on the new strain behaving differently. “So far, we don’t have any evidence that this variant behaves differently,” Kerkhove said. “But we will continue to evaluate and inform you of any changes.”
The United Kingdom, which has already begun its vaccination programme, confirmed the new variant of the virus on Monday. “We have currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas,” the country’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock informed the House of Commons in UK, according to BBC.
“We do not know the extent to which this is because of the new variant but no matter its cause we have to take swift and decisive action which unfortunately is absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is rolled out,” he said. Hancock also announced the decision to enforce tier-3 restrictions across the country from Wednesday midnight.
From Midnight on Wednesday morning, more areas will move into Tier 3 restrictions.
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) December 14, 2020
I know this is difficult news, but this action is absolutely essential to help prevent more damaging & longer-lasting problems later.
When the virus moves quickly, we must move quickly too. pic.twitter.com/QxKuwr9qs5
Last week, UK became the first country to begin vaccination against coronavirus after it approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s shot on December 2.
Meanwhile, UK recorded 20,263 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, taking the total figure over the past seven days to 1,31,708, up 21.6% compared with the previous seven-day number, Reuters reported, quoting official data. The country reported 232 new deaths from the disease, with the seven-day total rising to 2,984, almost unchanged from the previous seven days.
