The emergence of new variants of the virus caused by Covid-19, including one in the UK that British officials say could be more deadly than previous versions, indicates a future in which health authorities will be locked in a cat battle and mouse with pathogen that changes shape.
Coronavirus strains that spread more quickly and are feared by researchers may also make people sicker or make vaccines less effective that threaten to extend closures and cause more hospitalizations and deaths, according to epidemiologists. But, they said, it doesn’t mean the contagion can’t be contained.
“We live in a world where coronavirus is so prevalent and mutating rapidly that new variants will appear,” Anthony Harnden, a doctor advising the UK government, told Sky News. “We could be in a situation where we end up having to have an annual coronavirus vaccine” to deal with emerging strains.
As the new variant in the UK has spread across the country, hospitals have been subjected to more stress than in the first wave of the pandemic in the spring and the number of national deaths from Covid-19 is expected. exceed 100,000 in the coming days. But the week ended Sunday, new daily cases fell 22% from the previous seven days.
Matt Hancock, UK health secretary, said this was due to national restrictions in place since the beginning of the year. But in a television interview, Mr. Hancock warned, “We’re a long, long, long way” before the cases were low enough to lift the restrictions.