LONDON (Reuters) – Two new COVID-19 variants, one of which is classified as a ‘concern’, have been identified in England with some similarities to the South African and Brazilian variants, a government scientific committee has Said Tuesday.
One of the new variants, first identified in Bristol, has been identified by the Advisory Group for New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats as a “variety of concern”.
The other, first identified in Liverpool, has been identified by the group as a ‘variant under investigation’.
The new variant has the E484K mutation, which occurs on the vein protein of the virus, which is the same change as seen in the South African and Brazilian variants that has caused international concern.
Public Health England has now identified 76 cases of the new variant, and is confident that vaccines will work against it.
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; edited by Michael Holden