An emergency service worker collects Covid-19 test kits during a door-to-door mass testing operation in Maidstone, UK, on Tuesday, February 2, 2021.
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LONDON – The UK is struggling to contain the spread of additional mutations in the coronavirus, the most worrying variant first discovered in South Africa, seeing it appear spontaneously in different parts of the country.
The British Secretary of Health, Matt Hancock, said that the country must “go down hard” on the South African version after 105 cases were reported, and 11 of these cases had nothing to do with international travel.
As such, the UK has launched an improved testing program for around 80,000 people living in areas where pockets of mutated cases have been found. Tests are offered door-to-door, and positive cases will then be assessed to see if they are caused by the South African variant.
People in these areas have been told to consider limiting time spent outside their homes, while health authorities are fighting to prevent the spread of another more infectious variant. A mutation, now known as the “British mutation”, has already become the dominant strain in many parts of the country.
Earlier this week, Public Health England released another technical briefing warning that a handful of coronavirus cases of the variant first found in the UK had actually moved to include the E484K mutation, which was first seen. in the South African version.
Mutations in any virus are normal; viruses move all the time. But experts and policymakers are worried about mutations that allow the virus to spread much faster.
The South African variant had continued to worry experts who were worried that the coronavirus vaccines developed in the last year might not be as effective against it; there were also concerns that the South African variant could steal antibody drugs.
Vaccine manufacturers have said there is little evidence that their fires will be ineffective against the new variants and say they should be able to adapt their vaccines to the new variants in a few weeks, if necessary.
On Wednesday, the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and the German biotechnology company CureVac announced an agreement of 150 million euros (180 million dollars) to develop Covid vaccines that target several variants in a single product. The partners hope to launch such vaccines in 2022.
The UK vaccination program continues to gather steam and is on track to vaccinate its top four priority groups (over 70s, residents and nursing home staff, front-line health and social care staff). and the most clinically vulnerable) about 15 million people by mid-February.
As of February 1, more than 9.6 million people had received a first dose of vaccine and just under 500,000 had received two doses, according to government data.