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We have known about the new “British” variant of the coronavirus for over a week. Meanwhile, American scientists researching the pathogen suspect that VUI-202012/01 (because it received such a designation) probably arrived in the US in November. Hundreds of people can be infected with it.
- On December 14, the British Minister of Health announced that a new variant of the coronavirus had been detected in the UK. There are reports that it is 70 percent. more contagious
- US Researchers: New Coronavirus Variant Probably Arrived in the US in mid-November
- CDC: As a result of sequencing, a “British” variant of the coronavirus has not been identified in the US. The agency does not rule out, however, that it reached the United States
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock revealed a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the UK on 14 December. The new variant was given the designation VUI-202012/01. This variant was first identified in Kent during routine research by the government’s Public Health England agency. So far, there is no evidence that it causes the disease to be more severe, but it is known to be distinguished by its ability to spread rapidly.
Outside Great Britain, cases of VUI-202012/01 infections were detected, among others in Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands. US researchers studying the new variant believe it likely arrived in the United States in mid-November, and that many Americans may be infected with it. “If I had to guess, I would say there are probably hundreds of people,” said Michael Worobey, head of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, quoted by CNN. – It is very possible that this variant of SARS-CoV-2 has appeared many times in different places – he added.
It is worth noting at this point that this worrisome mutation of the coronavirus was first sequenced in the UK at the end of September.
Anthony Fauci: We have to assume he’s already here
Prof Trevor Bedford from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, the aforementioned Michael Worobey and other scientists analyzed the genetic sequences of the coronavirus from the United States. All to see if any of them might fit the British variant (let’s explain, to detect new mutations in the pathogen, samples are taken from infected patients and then genetically sequenced). So far no such has been found. Scientists point out that this may be due to the operation of the US surveillance system.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading US infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also commented on the matter. – We have to assume that he is already here, although he is definitely not the dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2.
- Virologist on the new coronavirus mutation: it’s no wonder [EXPLAINED]
In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC – an agency of the US federal government that is part of the Department of Health and Human Services), as a result of sequencing, the “British” variant of the coronavirus has not been identified in the US. However, it points out that on average only 51 thousand. of over 17 million infections in the US have been sequenced. That’s less than half a percent. “Given the small percentage of infections in the United States that have been sequenced, this variant of the coronavirus may already have been in the United States, but not detected,” reports the CDC.
“We’re acting blindly,” says Michael Worobey. – Maybe some other variant of the coronavirus is now traversing our country, but we just do not see it.
SARS-CoV-2 constantly mutates and many variants exist. By July, there were at least 12. “Mutants”, but they can be even tens of thousands. Most mutations are irrelevant; many are rare, some rapidly “dying out”.
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