Ron Votral will receive a vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on February 9, 2021 at a drive-through vaccination center in Robstown, Texas.
Go Nakamura | Reuters
LONDON – A variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the UK and has now been identified in over 80 countries could become the world’s dominant form of the virus, according to the head of the UK’s genetic surveillance program.
“The new variant has taken over the country and will most likely take over the world,” said Sharon Peacock, director of the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium.
“I think the future will be key if something (a variant) is particularly problematic with the vaccines,” she told the BBC’s Newcast podcast.
The group that Peacock leads, founded in April, brings together highly respected experts and institutes to collect, sequence and analyze genomes of the virus as part of the UK’s pandemic response. To date, the genetic history of more than 250,000 samples of the virus has been followed.
The consortium discovered the more infectious mutation, formerly known as B1.1.7, in September in Kent, southeast England, through retrospective analysis of virus samples.
Viruses are constantly mutating, but experts are concerned when a virus mutates to become more transmissible, as in this case, or more deadly. The higher rates of infection associated with the variant identified in the UK are likely to result in more hospitalizations and, unfortunately, more deaths. As a result, containment has become a priority.
The variant quickly spread in southeast England and London and is now the dominant variety in Great Britain. It has also been discovered in more than 80 countries, according to the latest World Health Organization census, leading health officials to scramble to isolate cases, although this more virulent strain is believed to be already widespread.
Knowing the exact origin of the mutation is difficult and given the work of the consortium, it was likely that new variants were found in the UK. Other countries that have advanced genome sequencing of the virus, such as Denmark and South Africa, have also discovered variants. Peacock, professor of public health and microbiology at Cambridge University, said that coronavirus variant sequencing will be required for at least 10 years.
There have been over 107 million coronavirus cases and over 2.3 million deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Mutation mutated
Aside from the variant of the virus, which was first observed in south east England, two new variants have emerged in a number of cases in Liverpool and Bristol that scientists are monitoring.
The mutation in Bristol has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group.
Peacock said although mutant variants were a problem, the variant seen in and around Bristol was in “closed areas and in very small numbers” with only 21 cases discovered to date.
“It is inevitable that the virus will continue to mutate, but the point is that the B1.1.7 variant that we have been circulating for a few weeks and months will mutate again and get new mutations that will affect the way We could treat the virus in terms of immunity and vaccine effectiveness, “she added.
Dr. Catherine Smallwood, chief emergency officer in the WHO European team, said during a press conference on Thursday that variant B1.1.7 “is now very widespread in the communities in more than half of the countries in the (European) region”. The WHO European Region comprises 53 countries.
“And this particular type of concern, particularly in Western European countries, is spreading faster than other lineages in terms of prevalence. So it’s really important that we keep an eye on overall transmission rates because they can grow very quickly once they become dominant have an impact on the overall epidemic curve and will require a more restrictive approach to public health and society actions in order to reduce overall transmission rates. “
