C
Chris Smith
Guest
We’ll need coronavirus vaccine booster shots for the foreseeable future to ensure continued protection against COVID-19 as the novel coronavirus mutates. That’s what Sharon Peacock, the head of COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK), told Reuters earlier this week. The scientist leads researchers whose job is to sequence as many coronavirus strains as possible and assess risks. The coronavirus mutates about once every two weeks, and three variants are currently of concern.
The B.1.1.7 mutant from the UK is more infectious and deadly than progenitors, but responds well to vaccines. The South African (B.1.351) and Brazilian (P.1) strains can reinfect COVID-19 survivors and reduce vaccine effectiveness. Peacock said that she was primarily worried about the South African variant, warning that there might be other variants out there they haven’t even discovered.
The French health ministry just confirmed Peacock’s prediction, announcing the discovery of a new coronavirus variant on Monday. The new strain doesn’t appear to be more transmissible or more serious than others, but it does have one unexpected ability: It seems to be undetectable with current PCR tests.
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French coronavirus variant can’t be detected by PCR tests originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 16 Mar 2021 at 20:53:22 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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