The new Covid variant - your questions answered
This Covid variant is the most heavily mutated version. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's James Gallagher answers your questions on what scientists say is "the most significant variant to date".
We're back in familiar territory - growing concern about a new variant of coronavirus. The latest is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far. James Gallagher is the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Health and Science Correspondent - but for the past two years, his job has been almost exclusively about covering the pandemic. He's been speaking to scientists about this latest variant - one of whom has described it as "horrific" because of its long list of mutations. Another has told him it's the worst variant he's seen.
It's early days and the confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa. Immediately, there are questions around how quickly the new variant spreads, its ability to bypass some of the protection given by vaccines and what should be done about it. Jonny McGuigan from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Social Media Team has a list of the most searched questions to put to James for our 5 Minutes On podcast - The new Covid variant.
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