UK coronavirus cases are soaring, and the new mutation might be to blame

[Chris Smith]

• The novel coronavirus is spreading rapidly in some regions of England, with experts estimating that the recently discovered UK mutation might be driving the dramatic rise in cases.
• The UK announced last week that the B.1.1.7 mutation has been spreading in the south and east of the country since September. Officials say they think the strain might be more infectious than other SARS-CoV-2 strains in the nation.
• Statistics from the UK show the number of cases rose dramatically in the week ending December 18th, fueled by spikes in cases in the south and east of England.

As if 2020 wasn’t bleak enough, the UK delivered some disappointing COVID-19 news last week. The novel coronavirus developed a new mutation called B.1.1.7, which is actually a collection of 17 genetic changes. The previously unseen event might have made the strain more infectious than its predecessors that are circulating in other countries, but not more deadly. It all happened ahead of the holidays, prompting British officials to introduce stricter safety measures and effectively cancel Christmas. And it happened just as vaccination campaigns started.

The UK is the first country to have started COVID-19 immunizations with the Pfizer/BioNTech drug. Most experts think that the UK mutation can’t evade the current vaccines, and both BioNTech and Moderna think their vaccines are likely to be effective against B.1.1.7. While more research on the matter is required and is currently underway, the UK has announced a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases. It might seem obvious, but it appears as though the new mutation might indeed be responsible.

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UK coronavirus cases are soaring, and the new mutation might be to blame originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 25 Dec 2020 at 20:01:11 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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