Researchers found a new coronavirus mutation that’s capable of sparking another pandemic

[Chris Smith]

• Some researchers fear that the mink coronavirus mutation in Denmark has pandemic potential, while others say more research is needed before suggesting current COVID-19 vaccine candidates might be ineffective against the new strain.
• The government announced that up to 17 million minks would be culled to prevent the new coronavirus variation from infecting more people — the mutated version of the virus has already infected at least 12 people.
• It’s unclear how dangerous the mutation is for vaccine research, but researchers from Denmark have already started sharing genome sequences of the mink mutation.

The government of Denmark shocked the world a few days ago when it announced it would slaughter as many as 17 million minks in the country, effectively destroying the entire mink fur industry in the country. The officials opted for this radical option because of the novel coronavirus, as the pathogen developed a potentially dangerous mutation inside the captive mink population. Reports from the country said that the mutated coronavirus has already infected at least 12 people. Researchers are worried that the new strain might be so dangerous that it could effectively render the current COVID-19 vaccine candidates useless. A new report now delivers more troublesome news, as some researchers think that the mutated coronavirus strain has pandemic potential. Others, meanwhile, are calling for calm.

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Researchers found a new coronavirus mutation that’s capable of sparking another pandemic originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Nov 2020 at 09:02:29 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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