The Daily Telegraph

New variant may be spread faster than delta, say experts

- By Joe Pinkstone SCIENCE CORRESPOND­ENT

A NEW Covid variant which first emerged in July is under investigat­ion by health officials after preliminar­y evidence revealed it may spread faster than delta.

The new strain is being referred to as AY.4.2 and is an offshoot of delta. It has a smattering of novel mutations on its surface spike protein that allows it to latch on to human cells and these may, some scientists speculate, make it more infectious.

Yesterday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), announced the variant is now formally designated as a Variant Under Investigat­ion.

At least 15,000 cases of the variant have been identified thus far, and it has been identified nationwide.

Delta swept the world and outcompete­d all other strains at the start of 2021 as it is more infectious and less susceptibl­e to current vaccines.

But since then, no other guise of SARS-COV-2 – the virus which causes Covid-19 – has managed to gain a toehold in the population.

AY.4.2 is the first to show sustained growth in several months, slowly swelling in number, and last week accounted for six per cent of all cases.

Now, health officials will conduct laboratory experiment­s to determine if the new mutant strain is more infectious than delta.

Investigat­ions will also seek to find out if the emerging strain can evade vaccine-induced protection and if it causes more severe disease.

Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Viruses mutate often and at random, and it is not unexpected that new variants will continue to arise as the pandemic goes on.”

Speaking at Downing Street on Wednesday, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid, said: “Covid mutates like any virus and we’re identifyin­g new variants all the time. This includes a new version of the Delta variant.”

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