UK Covid-19 variant now in 70 countries, South African in 31: WHO - Hindustan Times
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UK Covid-19 variant now in 70 countries, South African in 31: WHO

Byhindustantimes.com | Edited by Kunal Gaurav, New Delhi
Jan 27, 2021 10:06 PM IST

The UN agency stressed that the emergence of new variants has underscored the importance of increasing diagnostic capacity and systematic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday announced that the new variant of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which was first spotted in the UK, has now spread to 70 countries. In its latest epidemiological update, the UN health agency said that the coronavirus variant found in South Africa, B.1.351, has been reported from eight additional countries in the past week, taking the total to 31 countries. Meanwhile, the virus variant discovered in Brazil has now been reported in eight countries.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.(REUTERS)
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.(REUTERS)

The UK variant has shown to have relatively greater transmissibility and evidence of an increase in disease severity, according to the results from some recent studies. The WHO, however, has underlined that the results are preliminary, and more analyses are required to further corroborate those findings. In the United Kingdom, a decreasing trend in Covid-19 cases has been observed from January 11 through January 24, the health agency further stated.

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“Similar declines in incidence have also been reported in Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands, where local transmission of VOC 202012/01 has been reported,” the WHO added.

Read | ‘Next-gen’ vaccines may be needed to tackle emerging Covid variants: Scientists

The UN agency stressed in its report that the emergence of new variants has underscored the importance of increasing diagnostic capacity and systematic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, as well as the timely sharing of sequence data internationally. It advised that systematic sequencing should be considered for a subset of incoming travellers, as well as community-based samples. Over 4.1 million new Covid-19 cases were reported in the past week, registering a decline of 15 per cent from its preceding week.

On Monday, US biotechnology company Moderna Inc announced that its Covid-19 vaccine will be effective against the variants identified in the UK and South Africa. The company, however, will test an additional booster dose of its vaccine mRNA-1273 to study the ability to further increase neutralising activity against emerging strains.

It is also advancing an emerging variant booster candidate against the variant, B.1.351, first identified in South Africa. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement that the company is advancing the emerging variant booster candidate out of “abundance of caution.” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement that the company is advancing the emerging variant booster candidate out of “abundance of caution.”


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