What we know about the South Africa-style Covid strain found in Bristol
Experts move to play down fears over new variant evading existing vaccines
A new strain of Covid-19 discovered in Bristol has been classed as a “variant of concern” by the government’s virus threat advisory group.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group said the “mutation of the so-called Kent strain may be highly transmissible - and could also possibly interfere with the vaccine”, Sky News reports.
There have been 14 cases of the new variant in Bristol, four in Manchester and three other dispersed cases, while a separate mutation first reported in Liverpool has been classed as a “variant under investigation”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Bristol strain “changes the shape of the virus’ spike protein”, the broadcaster adds, “making it harder for the immune system to recognise and neutralise the virus, even if it has been shown what to do by the vaccine”.
Stressing that the data on the new variant is “very sketchy”, Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe said it may be able to “escape immunity to some extent” meaning that “it’s possible it could evade the vaccine”.
Public Health England (PHE) says it has a “high degree of confidence that the vaccines will work against variants”, including strains discovered in both Bristol and Liverpool, ITV reports.
Oxford University vaccine lead researcher Professor Sarah Gilbert said that the current vaccines “have a reduction in efficacy against some of the variant viruses”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
“What that is looking like is that we may not be reducing the total number of cases but there’s still protection in that case against deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease,” she added.
Boris Johnson has also sought to calm nerves about the emergence of new variants, saying he is “very confident in all the vaccines that we’re using” because they all protect against severe illness and death.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
'A new era of hurricanes'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Britain's demographic is changing
A 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The story of Japanese jeweller Tasaki
The Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Long Covid: study shows damage to brain's 'control centre'
The Explainer Research could help scientists understand long-term effects of Covid-19 as well as conditions such as MS and dementia
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel, UN agree to Gaza pauses for polio vaccinations
Speed Read Gaza's first case of polio in 25 years was confirmed last week in a 10-month-old boy who is now partially paralyzed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
FDA OKs new Covid vaccine, available soon
Speed read The CDC recommends the new booster to combat the widely-circulating KP.2 strain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mpox: how dangerous is new health emergency?
Today's Big Question Spread of potentially deadly sub-variant more like early days of HIV than Covid, say scientists
By The Week UK Published
-
What is POTS and why is it more common now?
The explainer The condition affecting young women
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published