A fast-spreading coronavirus variant first observed in the United Kingdom has gained a new mutation that could potentially make it harder to control with vaccines, Public Health England reported.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, first came to light in December. Researchers determined that it had rapidly become more common across the United Kingdom in just a couple of months.
Experiments in test tubes suggest that some of its mutations allow the coronavirus to hold onto cells more tightly.
Since B.1.1.7’s discovery in the United Kingdom, the variant has been reported in 72 other countries. The United States confirmed its first case of B.1.1.7 on Dec. 29. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 467 samples of the variant in 32 states.
In its latest analysis, Public Health England estimated that the variant’s rate of infection is 25% to 40% higher than that of other forms of the coronavirus. Some preliminary evidence suggests that it may also cause more deaths.
Several lines of evidence suggest that vaccines will work against B.1.1.7. Vaccine-maker Novavax announced that its British trial found no evidence that B.1.1.7 could evade the vaccine’s defenses.
Whenever these variants infect a new host and multiply, there’s a small chance that they will gain yet another mutation. Most of the mutations are of little concern, but scientists have worried that by mutating, these already dangerous variants could evolve into more fearsome forms.
Even if a mutation alters a coronavirus variant, that’s no guarantee it will have the same effect in another variant. The effect of each new mutation depends on all the other mutations carried by the virus, Japan Times reported.
