A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, has been identified in the UK and may be growing faster than existing variants of the virus, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.
It’s thought the new variant could be the cause of rising infection rates in London and the south of England. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the new variant called?
People on social media have already nicknamed the new variant Covid-20. However its formal name is VUI – 202012/01, which stands for the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020.
A variant of SARS-CoV-2 is a version of the virus that has undergone some genetic changes, also known as mutations. Some mutations may change the characteristics of the virus and how it interacts with humans.
There are eight key strains – or clades – of the virus which have been discovered worldwide. Think of them as eight branches on a tree. They all stem from one common ancestor, but have branched off (mutated) to become different things.
The new variant, VUI – 202012/01, is currently defined by the presence of specific mutations, rather than a clade, PHE confirmed. This particular variant includes a mutation in the ‘spike’ protein, which may result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
It’s not unusual for a virus to mutate. In fact, there are around one to two mutations per month with SARS-CoV-2, which means many thousands of mutations have already happened since the virus emerged in 2019, according to the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been notified of the new variant.
Does the new variant cause different symptoms?
As far as we know the new variant doesn’t cause new or different symptoms of Covid-19 – people are still advised to keep an eye out for the key symptoms of fever, persistent cough and a loss of smell or taste.
Hancock said it’s unlikely to cause more serious disease than other variants.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Test and Trace and PHE joint medical advisor, reminds people that the best way to stop infection is to stick to the rules: “wash our hands, wear a face covering and keep our distance from others.”
Does the vaccine still work with this variant?
It’s “highly unlikely” the vaccine won’t work with this new variant, Hancock said, although this is currently being assessed. He said we’ll know more in the coming weeks as the new variant is cultured in laboratories and tested.
At present, we know the virus that causes Covid-19 is mutating relatively slowly, which is a positive. By comparison, the flu mutates much faster.
It’s important for scientists to monitor how the virus is mutating because it could impact the effectiveness of vaccines, the severity of illness, the transmissibility of the virus (how easily it spreads) and also the effectiveness of treatments, such as antiviral drugs.
The new virus variant is being investigated in a Public Health England (PHE) laboratory to determine whether it shows increased infectivity, and whether it behaves differently in response to antibodies from people who have had prior infection or been vaccinated – this will take approximately 14 days.
Professor Tom Solomon, the Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at the University of Liverpool, said: “Just because there has been a small change in the virus’ genetic make-up this does not mean it is any more virulent, nor that vaccines won’t be effective. Our experience from previous similar viruses suggests that the vaccines will be effective despite small genetic changes.”
Dr Zania Stamataki, a viral immunologist at the University of Birmingham, added that if the Covid-19 vaccine does need to be amended, “it will not be a major undertaking to update the new vaccines when necessary in the future”.
“This year has seen significant advances take place to build the infrastructure for us to keep up with this coronavirus,” she said.
Are scientists worried?
The general consensus is that it’s too early to be overly concerned and more information is needed. Plenty of scientists are impressed the new variant was spotted so quickly, however.
Alan McNally, a professor in Microbial Evolutionary Genomics at the University of Birmingham, said: “Over the past few weeks a few of the UK PCR testing labs have picked up on this new variant. Supported by The Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium and rapid genomics it has been identified incredibly quickly.
“It is important to keep a calm and rational perspective on the strain as this is normal virus evolution and we expect new variants to come and go and emerge over time. It’s too early to be worried or not by this new variant, but I am in awe of the surveillance efforts in the UK that allowed this to be picked up so fast.”
Jonathan Ball, professor of Molecular Virology, at the University of Nottingham, adds: “It is important that we study any genetic changes as they occur, to work out if they are affecting how the virus behaves, and until we have done that important work it is premature to make any claims about the potential impacts of virus mutation.”
