The new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa poses an even greater risk than the highly infectious strain that appeared in British patients, the British health secretary said on Monday.
Secretary Matt Hancock described the South African variant as a “very important problem” in a Monday interview on BBC radio.
“I am incredibly concerned about the South African variant, which is why we took the steps we did to restrict all flights from South Africa,” he told the program. “This is a very, very important problem … and it’s even more of a problem than the new UK variant.”
Hancock told ITV News that the strain found in South Africa “seems even easier to convey than the new variant we’ve seen here [in the UK]”.
Only two cases of the South African variant have been documented in the UK, but officials hope to keep a check on it, as 55,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the country on Sunday, according to the report.
“We need to keep an eye on it because it’s even harder to deal with than the UK variant,” he said.
Hancock’s concern stems from fears that vaccines will not be as effective against the South African variant as the UK variant. ITV political editor Robert Peston has tweeted, citing one of the government’s scientific advisers.
Oxford University scientist Sir John Bell told Times Radio Sunday that more research is needed and that “there is a big question” as to whether the vaccines will work in the new strain, known as 501.V2.
But Bell added that he doubts the vaccines will become completely ineffective against the variant.
With publishing cables