LONDON (Reuters) – Two new COVID-19 variants have been identified in England, one of which has been classified as a “concern”, with some similarities to South African and Brazilian variants, a scientific committee said on Tuesday. government advisory.
One of the new variants, first identified in Bristol, has been designated as a “variant of concern” by the Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats.
The other, first identified in Liverpool, has been designated by the group as a “variant under investigation”.
The new variants have the E484K mutation, which occurs in the tip protein of the virus, which is the same change that has been seen in the South African and Brazilian variants that have caused international concern.
Public Health England has identified 76 cases of the new variants and is confident the vaccines will work against them.
Reports by Andrew MacAskill; edited by Michael Holden