Scientists in the United States have discovered a mutated version of the COVID-19 variant that was first discovered in Britain. According to the New York Times, American scientists have named the rural version of the UK’s difference as a matter of “grave concern” because of its quality of presentation. Scientists have said that the existing COVID-19 vaccines could be just as effective against the mutated new version.
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The mutated version of the UK variant B.1.1.7 has been identified in Oregon, which scientists say did not come from another part of the world and appears to have developed in the country itself. The new version of the virus is a variant of “E484K”, which can be seen in variants found in Brazil, South Africa and New York City.
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Scientists in South Africa have concluded that existing vaccines are less effective against E484K mutation. Drug manufacturers are working to tweak their existing vaccines to make them more effective against new variants of COVID-19.
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So far, only one case has been identified with the push, but health experts fear the individual may have been removed from the community. The mutation has already been discovered in the United Kingdom, where it has been identified as a “variable of concern” by scientists.
New variety found in UK
British scientists have recently discovered a new version of the COVID-19 virus in the United Kingdom. The new strain of the COVID-19 virus is referred to as VUI-202102/04, where VUI stands for ‘virus under investigation’. The new variant was reportedly named VUI on February 24, about ten days after it was first discovered. Public Health England (PHE) said on Thursday that everyone who has tested positive for the new variant has been lonely, including those who came in contact with them.
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