In addition, the mutated virus is not resistant to the vaccines, and as long as that is the case, there is no reason to panic, Dr Schockmel pointed out.
The mutated virus, which was discovered in the southeast of England and London back in September, is said to be 70% more infectious. It is, however, not resistant to the vaccines and treatments. Since its initial discovery in China at the end of 2019, the virus has evolved numerous times already.
Highly infectious?
In an interview with RTL, Dr Schockmel stated that it is "not the first and not the last time" that the virus has mutated. The infectious disease expert at Hôpitaux Robert Schuman explained that it is of course not ideal when a virus mutates and spreads to dominate the other strains over time. However, Dr Schockmel thinks that this information needs to be put into perspective, stating that 70% is not a shocking figure when speaking about the already highly infectious coronavirus.
Impact on the vaccine?
According to preliminary research, there is no evidence to suggest that the mutation could affect the effectiveness of the vaccines. Dr Schockmel explained that the immune response triggered by the vaccine is very strong and that a virus would have to mutate quite significantly and specifically "in the area that the antibodies protect us from". Bigger changes to the virus require more than a single mutation and that usually takes years, Dr Schockmel added. And even if such a big change happens at some point, it will be "extremely easy" to adapt the vaccine.
The World Health Organisation is currently analysing the new strain of the coronavirus. Research focuses mainly on whether or not the mutation affects the vaccines in any way as well as whether it increases the likelihood of severe reactions to the disease.
The German virologist and coronavirus expert Christian Drosten from the Charité hospital in Berlin also stated that he is not particularly worried. A lot is still unknown, and it has to be assumed that the mutation is already circulating in Germany. However, this should be no cause for concern as the mutation has already been found in Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium and none of these countries experienced a development similar to that in the UK.
