The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant first found in Kent is expected to become the world’s dominant strain according to the head of the UK’s genetic surveillance program.
In an interview on BBC, Sharon Peacock said that the variant has swept the United Kingdom and is set to sweep the world in the future.
The Kent variant has been detected in at least 50 countries.
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The variant was first detected in September 2020 and proven to be more transmissible than other COVID-19 variants.
It also prompted a new set of lockdowns and restrictions in the UK over the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases.
“What’s really affected us at the moment is transmissibility,” Peacock said.
“Once we get on top of the virus or it mutates itself out of being virulent – causing disease – then we can stop worrying about it. But I think, looking in the future, we’re going to be doing this for years. We’re still going to be doing this 10 years down the line, in my view,” she added.
The expert said that they will be sequencing variants of the virus for a long period of time.
Peacock said that current vaccines can work with the existing variants, but might be less effective in the new set of variants.
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The Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium analyzes 20,000 positive samples in a week.
The expert said that it’s normal to see new COVID-19 variants, but it’s important to be vigilant in case new variants have a special feature on them.
“These are the things we are looking out for. I’d say it happens vanishingly rarely but we have to be on the lookout for it,” the expert said. (TDT)
