Input 2021.01.05 10:36 | Revision 2021.01.05 10:48
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said in an interview with the BBC on the 4th (local time), “I am very concerned about the South Asian mutation.” On the 23rd of last month, the British government announced a ban on entry from South Africa, saying that the mutant virus from South Africa is stronger than the existing virus.
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Bell also feared that mutations from South Africa could not be prevented with the newly developed vaccine. However, he said, “We will not be able to completely neutralize the vaccine,” he said. “If the vaccine is not effective against the (South African) mutant virus, it will be redeveloped within a year.”
The U.K. mutant virus first appeared in September and now accounts for more than 60% of new confirmed cases in London and surrounding areas. It is known that it is 50-70% more infectious than the existing virus, and it has spread to 33 countries including Korea.
There are a total of 10 countries in Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, where mutant viruses originating from the UK have been confirmed. A mutant virus has also been confirmed in Asia, such as India, Japan, and Taiwan, and in Latin America, such as Brazil and Chile. In North America, the mutant virus has spread in the United States and Canada.
The mutant virus originating in South Africa is rapidly spreading around the coastal areas of South Africa. In Korea, one confirmed patient came out on the 3rd. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that the virus may have stronger transmission power than existing mutant viruses such as those from the UK.
South African scientists entered an urgent experiment today to see if a commercially available vaccine would also be effective against the mutant virus in the country. In South Africa, which has been experiencing a second wave since December of last year amid the emergence of the mutant virus, the number of confirmed cases and deaths is increasing faster than the peak of the first wave at the end of last July.
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