New COVID variant raises alarm around the world

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New COVID variant raises alarm around the world

The new variant of SARS-CoV 2 first reported in South Africa is raising alarms for health officials around the world, leading to new travel restrictions due to fears that it could be resistant to existing vaccines.

In South Africa, researchers performed genetic analysis of COVID 19 virus cases and determined that a new variant, B. The country's health minister announced on November 25 that 529 had been found in cases in South Africa, Botswana and a traveler who had traveled from South Africa to Hong Kong. The following day, Belgian health officials reported the first case of the new variant discovered in Europe.

Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor on COVID 19 to the White House and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN U.S. researchers will be talking with their South African colleagues to find out what is going on. Why is this variant so worrying?

The number of mutations, up to 30, that South African scientists reported in spike protein, which is the main target for currently available vaccines and drug therapies. The changes make the protein look different from the original that scientists are worried about whether existing vaccines can still protect against disease. Researchers will be rushing to determine how quickly the new variant spreads, and whether it can escape vaccine protection.

The vaccines have been used to protect against severe disease, and they have helped to lower hospitalizations and deaths from COVID - 19 in areas where coverage is high, according to scientists. Large numbers of people around the world still aren't vaccinated, either because they can't access doses or are hesitant to get immunized. Public health experts have been wary of new variants that could escape vaccine-protection because of the steady stream of new infections that provide the virus new opportunities to mutate.

How is the world reacting to this?

Health officials and political leaders aren't taking any chances until researchers learn more about the latest variant, as the world prepares for a busy holiday season. The U.K. has immediately banned flights from six African countries - South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe - and instituted a 10 day quarantine for all travelers entering the U.K. from those countries. The variant is of huge international concern, according to the U.K. health minister Sajid Javid. Belgian health authorities said one case of the new variant, in an unvaccinated traveler who had returned from abroad, had appeared in the country. As a precaution, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden said that flights from South African nations should be suspended until we have a clear understanding of the dangers posed by this new variant. Cases in the bloc have been spiking in recent weeks due to low vaccination rates and greater density of people in public areas.

In the U.S. researchers will be looking for more details about the molecular features of the virus that will allow them to test for the variant in this country, as well as challenge the variant in the lab with antibodies made by people or those who recovered from COVID- 19 to determine whether those antibodies continue to neutralize the virus.

A World Health Organization working group is expected to meet on November 26 to assess the variant, which it currently designates as a variant under monitoring. The group will determine whether the new version of the virus is sufficient to re-categorize it, in which case it would be labelled with a Greek letter designation, as previous variants of concern have been.