B.1.526: New contagious Covid-19 variant

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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.