TOKYO (Reuters) – About 70% of coronavirus patients tested in a Tokyo hospital last month had a mutation known as reducing vaccine protection, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday said.
The E484K mutation, nicknamed “Eek” by some scientists, was found in 10 of 14 people who tested positive for the virus at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Medical Hospital in March, the report said.
During the two months to March, 12 of the 36 COVID patients carried the mutation, and none of them had recently traveled abroad or had contact with humans.
Hospital officials were not immediately available for comment.
Ahead of the Summer Olympics to begin in July, Japan is grappling with a new wave of infections. Health experts are particularly concerned about the spread of mutant strains, even though large-scale vaccinations of the general population have not yet begun.
On Friday, 446 new infections were reported in Tokyo, although still much lower than the peak of more than 2,500 in January.
In Osaka, a record 666 cases were reported. Health experts have expressed concern about the spread of a mutant strain in the western metropolis that originated in Britain.
NHK said none of the patients in Tokyo Hospital carry the British strain.
Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Edited by William Mallard