She also said the British variant was dominant in the country and was likely "to sweep the world, in all probability". Britain's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the Bristol variant had one of the same mutations as the South African. There are three major known variants that are worrying scientists: the South African variant, known by scientists as20I/501Y.V2 or B.1.351; the British variant known as 20I/501Y.V1or B.1.1.7; and the Brazilian variant known as P.1. The British variant, which is more infectious but not necessarily more deadly than others, was likely "to sweep theworld", Peacock said. The two COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech andAstraZeneca protect against the main British variant.

Source: The Hindu February 11, 2021 17:49 UTC