PARIS (Reuters) - Scientists are investigating a new coronavirus variant that has been detected in Brittany in western France and may evade testing more successfully than other versions, the regional health authority said on Tuesday. Eight cases of the new variant were identified in a cluster in a Brittany hospital. “Investigations will take place to determine how this variant reacts to vaccination and to antibodies developed during prior COVID infections,” Brittany’s regional health authority said in a statement. Brittany has so far avoided the brunt of the third wave of infections sweeping through France and other European countries, but the incidence rate is rising. The incidence rate in Paris and its surrounds, where intensive care wards are near saturation, stands at 404 per 100,000.

Source: The Nation March 16, 2021 18:00 UTC