12-03-2021 | 16:05 PM
B.1.526: New contagious Covid-19 variant
Context
A new highly contagious Covid-19 variant which carries a worrisome mutation that may weaken the effectiveness of vaccines is causing severe damage in the city of New York.
Key Highlights
A study published on the Columbia University website states that the new Covid-19 variant is carrying a highly dangerous mutation which has the potential to weaken the efficacy of the vaccine.
The new variant is called B.1.526.
The study highlighted that the highly contagious variant was initially identified in samples which were collected in November 2020.
The cases with these new variants B.1.526 have been on a steady rise since December 2020 in the city.
As per the study, about 12.3% of the total cases till mid-February of 2021 were due to this new variant of the coronavirus. It highlights that one in four cases in New York city are related to this variant.
The researchers further found that one area of the spike protein – E484K, was present in one of the three contagious variants of the virus.
These three variants include p.1 or Brazilian Variant, South African variant and New York variant.
They also stated that this particular part of the spike protein has negative impacts on the immunity of the body and could exacerbate the condition.