New variant’ of coronavirus identified — Hancock
A new form of coronavirus has been found that is growing rapidly in some parts of England, MPs have been told.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at least 0 different local authorities had recorded covid infections due to the new look.
He said the World Health Organization has been notified and scientists in the UK are conducting detailed research.
He said “there is nothing to advise” that the disease has gotten worse or the vaccines will no longer work.
He told lawmakers in the House of Commons that there had been a sharp, disgusting increase in coronavirus infections in parts of London, Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire over the past week.
Alan McNally, an expert professor at the University of Birmingham, says UK tests have taken on this new look in recent weeks.
He told the BBC: “Let’s not become historical. This does not mean that it is more contagious or dangerous.
“It’s something to keep an eye on.
“Huge efforts continue to be made to determine the characteristics of the variant and to understand its emergence. It is important to have a calm and logical view of the strain because it is the evolution of the common virus and we hope that new forms will come and go and emerge over time.”
There is a simple rule to understand all “new strains” or “new forms”: ask if the behavior of the virus has changed.
This is very important because viruses change all the time, this is exactly what they do. And so far we have been given “fear” but not “answers”.
Matt Hancock said the new version of the coronavirus could “be linked” to the rapid spread of the disease in the south-east of England.
This is not to say that it “increases” and Mr. Hancock did not say that the virus spread more easily from person to person.
New strains may become more common because they have nothing to do with viruses.
One explanation for the rise of the “Spanish strain” in the summer was tourism.
At the moment, there are horrible headlines everywhere but there is still no scientific description to know how significant it is.
Jonathan Ball, a professor in the Department of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham, said: “Genetic information in many viruses can change very quickly and sometimes these changes can benefit the virus — allowing it to be transmitted more efficiently or by avoiding vaccines or treatments. No effect.
“Therefore, it is important for us to study genetic mutations as they occur, if they affect the behavior of viruses, to act on them, and to make any claims about the potential effects of virus mutations until we do the important work.”
Originally published at https://theinstantnews.com on December 14, 2020.