Should US Be Worried About New Fast-Moving Coronavirus Strain In England

Even as the covid-19 vaccines are being rolled out in the US, there are concerns that a new strain of coronavirus is racing across England that appears to be more infectious than the covid-19 original strain. This mutation of the virus is something that the experts are watching out for a long time, and they believe that this has been in circulation since September.

Should US Be Worried About New Fast-Moving Coronavirus Strain In England

Experts say that vaccine makers often take mutations into account while developing the vaccines, and several seasonal vaccines include a variety of viral strains that are already circulating. Apart from that, they may also make provisions to allow for some other strains that could develop at a later stage. Infectious disease experts say that the coronavirus vaccine developed also expected that the virus would mutate in future and have included various predictions of viral strains. As of now, there are no dramatic genetic shifts that can raise alarms, and this sort of mutation is expected to happen with a virus-like covid-19.

The new strain is not yet detected in the US, and the health authorities are currently focusing on rolling out the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna. As the health authorities now have two available vaccines that are approved by the FDA, it has become easier for them to manage the supply concerns. Health experts are of the opinion that vaccination is critical to ultimately slow down the pandemic that is causing more than 200,000 infections on a daily basis across the country and resulting in more than 2000 deaths.

Vivek Murthy, who is nominated for surgeon general by Joe Biden, said that Americans should not be worried about the new strain of the virus and keep faith in the vaccines approved by the FDA. He said that there was no reason to believe that the vaccines that are currently being used across the US will not be effective against the new strain of coronavirus.

Several experts say that mutations are random, and they may sometimes fizzle out without causing any problems. However, at this stage, it is important to monitor how it is progressing and the symptoms of patients suffering from the new strain of coronavirus. The concerning issue with the new virus strain is that it spreads faster than the original strain and health authorities in England said that the situation was out of control in some regions.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also issued a statement that the new strain was 70% more transmissible than the original. He also issued tighter restrictions across England ahead of holidays. Socializing across the country is now restricted only on Christmas Day, and more than 16 million people are now ordered to stay at home in Southeast part of England and London.

The World Health Organisation said that the new strain of coronavirus was identified in this region in September. This mutation has been detected even in Australia and some other countries. Public Health officials across the world are aware of this development, and they are monitoring the progress of the virus mutation. Several countries are considering imposing a ban on international travel in order to avoid the spread of the new virus strain.

Experts say that it is not easy to predict what is going to happen with the new strain, and they will have to be careful about further mutations. Till then, practicing social distancing and taking other covid-19 precautions is the only way to stay safe. The mass vaccination program is going on at a good pace across the US, and there are no issues so far with the distribution process.