Scientists in the UK are studying the effects of a new mutant version of coronavirus, called VUI-2020 12/01, on children and whether the faster spread in parts of England is due to the youngest section of the population.
The government’s New Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) is monitoring the data to analyze this arc of variance, which has forced more than 40 countries, including India, to stop traveled to the UK and back to try the more contagious mutations. Earlier strains of coronavirus made it more difficult to infect children than adults, with one explanation stating that children have fewer doors called the ACE2 receptor that the virus uses to infect -into a person’s body cells.
Professor Wendy Barclay, from Nervtag and Imperial College London, said the mutations to the virus appear to make it easier to break those doors.
“So children are probably just as susceptible to this virus as adults, so with their mixing patterns, you would expect more children to be infected,” she explained.
Experts do not believe the new version poses a greater risk to children’s health and the scientist behind the world’s first approved vaccine against Covid-19 has said that the Pfizer jabs / BioNTech is against the strain, although further investigation is ongoing.
“Our vaccine is likely to work at a relatively high rate,” said Ugur Sahin, chief executive officer of the German co – developer of the BioNTech vaccine.
Speaking on Bild TV in Germany, Sahin said his company would be inspecting the shop in the coming days and was looking at the issue “with a degree of enthusiasm”.
His message of confidence comes as the UK reaches half a million milestone for injecting vaccines, delivered to the elderly and the most vulnerable of the country’s population.
“I can announce today that more than half a million people, over 500,000 people in the UK, have now received their first dose,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at a briefing at 10 Downing Street on Monday night.
“I find that encouraging and encouraging,” he said.
His speech came as nearly 1,500 lorries gathered on the border as France closed out of the UK amid fears of the new high-speed distribution. Government ministers have been working to build the block, with a major test of the drivers as one option so it can resume the flow of goods and trucks able to get back home in time for Christmas.
“Tests of some kind are part of the talks the transport secretary is currently having with his colleague in France,” said UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.
“Implementing these tests can happen very quickly, but in terms of the details of that, that is something that the transport secretary and his colleague will be discussing,” she said.
Since initial reports of the new change being more limited to London and the south of England, the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has now confirmed that it is available “everywhere”. This would mean that locking home stay more nationally could be on its way to adding to the millions already below Stage 4 of the hardest loopholes and closures of businesses and activity.
Scotland Yard issued a statement urging the public to adhere to the measures, which prohibit various families from mixing to try to prevent the rapid spread of the deadly virus.
“Our message is clear. Anyone who thinks the rules are being broken, ignored, or not applicable is completely wrong. The rules are that you should stay at home. He wants your safety, the safety of your family and friends, and the safety of your communities, ”said Commander Alex Murray, Metropolitan Police director for Covid.
Police forces across the UK have the power to impose heavy fines for breaches of the rules and the most infamous cases can also be arrested.
The warnings come as the UK recorded a daily disease count of 33,364 on Monday, with the death rate from Covid-19 rising to 67,616.
(This story was published from a wire group group without text modification.)
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