Covid: Vietnam Detects New UK-Indian Variant, Health Officials Say, BBC

Last edited Sun May 30, 2021, 07:41 AM - Edit history (1)

- So far, Vietnam has recorded few cases by international standards.
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BBC News, May 29, 2021.

Vietnam has detected a Covid variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly by air, officials say. Vietnam's Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long described the latest mutation on Saturday as "very dangerous". Viruses mutate all the time and most variants are inconsequential, but some can make a virus more contagious. Since Covid-19 was first identified in January 2020, thousands of mutations have been detected.

"Vietnam has uncovered a new Covid-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK," Mr Nguyen told a government meeting, according to Reuters news agency.

Mr Nguyen said the new hybrid variant was more transmissible than previously known versions, especially in the air.

He said it was discovered after running tests on newly-detected patients, online newspaper VnExpress reported. He added that the genetic code of the virus would be made available soon.

- What we know about the different variants - Where is the Indian variant and how is it spreading? - Covid vaccines: How fast is progress around the world?
- The variant of Covid-19 first identified in India last October - called B.1.617.2 - is more transmissible than the UK/Kent variant - also known as B.1.1.7 - according to experts.

Research suggests that vaccines, such as the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs, are highly effective against the Indian variant after two doses, but protection from one dose appears to be reduced. There is no evidence that any mutations of the coronavirus cause much more serious illness for the vast majority of people. As with the original version, the risk remains highest for people who are elderly or have significant underlying health conditions.

But a virus being more infectious and equally dangerous will in itself lead to more deaths in an unvaccinated population...

More, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57296803