GENEVA / ZURICH – The World Health Organization has warned against big warnings about a new infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic evolution.
WHO officials even shed positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted several countries under fear to ban travel on Britain and South Africa, saying new tools for detecting the virus were working.
“We need to find a balance. It is very important to have clarity, it is very important to tell the public what it is, but it is also important to know that this is a normal part of virus evolution, ”said WHO emergency chief Mike Ryan. online message.
“Being able to detect a virus closely means that this carefully, scientifically in real time is a very positive development for global public health, and the countries conducting this type of research should be commended. ”
Citing data from Britain, WHO officials said they had no evidence that the variant was making people sicker or more deadly than the existing COVID-19 strains, although it appeared to be it spread easier.
Countries that enforced travel loops worked carefully while assessing risks, Ryan said: “That makes sense. But it’s also important for everyone to recognize that this is happening, these variations are happening. ”
WHO officials said that coronavirus mutations to date have been much slower than with the flu and that even the new variant in the UK was living much less frequently than other diseases such as pneumonia.
They said vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 should also treat the new changes, although studies were ongoing to confirm that this was the case.
“So far, even though we have seen a number of changes, a number of mutations, none have had a significant effect on the susceptibility of the virus to any of the medicines, drugs or vaccines used. and right now we hope that will continue, ”WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the meeting.
The WHO said it expects to get more details within days or weeks on the potential impact of the new highly portable coronavirus strain.
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