Health chiefs have spotted another Covid variant spreading in Britain, with 31 mutant strains now on the UK's watchlist. The group wrote: 'In other words, this virus will become like other human CoV that causes common colds, but with much less severe disease predominantly in the old or clinically vulnerable.' They listed dogs, cats, mice, rats and ferrets as animals who are known to have been infected with Covid.Īnother potential issue they found is the use of antvirals to treat Covid once a patient is already infected.īritain invested heavily in the new technologies - which were used to treat Donald Trump during his bought with the virus last year - but scientists warn overuse could lead to more mutant strains and warned doctors to only prescribe them in the most serious cases of Covid.īut in more hopeful news, the group also predicted it is a 'realistic possibility in the long term' that as Covid continue to mutate it will cause less serious disease. The group warned further culling or animal vaccinating may be needed in other species to prevent them becoming reservoirs for the virus. Could the next COVID variant be worse? Madhu Pai, MD, PhD July 29, 2021 If we cannot equitably share vaccines, we will face worse variantsĭelta is bad.
'Without stricter border control measures we risk importing vaccine-resistant variants while uncontrolled spread here could lead to yet another UK variant.' 'The UK only donated its first vaccine doses internationally this week and, unless there is a rapid increase in global production, through sharing knowledge and technology, it simply will not be possible to vaccinate the world and bring the pandemic to an end. 'Recommendations and comments made by SAGE bring home the simple reality - that we have not yet "defeated" this virus. He'll answer some of your questions & concerns next week live on /kgP9PHRljmĪnd experts and politicians have warned the damning report shows the Government 'must not be complacent' as Britain appears to be coming out its current third wave of the pandemic.ĭr Philippa Whitford, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, said: 'This report, which should have sent shock waves through the UK Government, was instead quietly snuck out among a glut of reports during parliamentary recess. The prospect of a deadlier variant is a 'realistic possibility' and would have a huge impact on the UK's death toll moving forward, the scientists said.Īs COVID cases increase in the U.S., many restrictions and mandates are returning due to the spread of the Delta variant. The team admitted vaccines should work unless there was an extra-potent mutation that rendered jabs much less effective at blocking serious disease - which many experts say is unlikely.īut they said the extra lethality would be expected 'even in the face of vaccination since vaccines do not provide absolute sterilising immunity.' The process - known as recombination - could lead to a strain with 'increased morbidity and mortality'. Scientists unveiled the threat of a super mutant variant in a paper looking at potential scenarios that could emerge in the not-so-distant future.Įxperts said a future strain could be resistant to vaccines if it came about by the jab-resistant 'South Africa' Beta variant combining with the more transmissible 'Kent' Alpha or 'India' Delta variants. Scientists said Britain should bring in booster vaccine doses over the winter, minimise new variants coming from abroad and consider culling animals - including minks and even cats, which can harbour the virus - to prevent the mutant strain occurring. No10's expert panel It said the likelihood of the virus mutating is highest when it is most prevalent - as is currently the case in Britain.Īnd a downside of Britain's hugely successful vaccine drive, it appears the country's greater levels of immunity could help speed up the process. A doomsday new Covid variant that could kill up to one in three people is a 'realistic possibility', according to the Government's top scientists.ĭocuments published by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies ( SAGE) today warned a future strain could be as deadly as MERS - which which has a case fatality rate of 35 per cent - could be on the way.
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