England: A new variant of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly

Authorities in the UK have confirmed that a new mutation of Covid-19 has spread to the south east of England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the "new variant" had been identified by scientists and could be associated with a faster spread of the coronavirus. "Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than existing variants," he told parliament Monday (via Euronews).

"We have currently identified over a thousand cases with this variant, mainly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in over 60 different areas and the numbers are growing rapidly."

Hancock said the UK has notified the World Health Organization of the new variant. Fortunately, scientists believe it is "very unlikely" that the Covid-19 vaccine will be ineffective against the new variant.

In late November, a giant study of more than 12,000 mutations in the new coronavirus found that none of them made a big difference in how easily they infect humans. The mutations, found in more than 46,000 samples taken from 99 different countries, all appear to be neutral, the team of leading viral genetics experts reported in the journal Nature Communications.

Most mutations so far appear to come from this third mechanism, the studies noted, but appear to be neutral: They neither harm nor help the virus.

The worst-case scenario is that Covid variants may require new vaccines, and given that it takes time to create a vaccine, Covid-19 may never go away. But at the moment there is no evidence that these variants are less sensitive to vaccines currently under development.