This means that, like the Indian variant, it is more transmissible and, like the South African variant, it is more evasive of COVID-19 vaccines. According to Public Health England (PHE), the new strain is a version of the Indian variant which has acquired new mutations. The mutant strain is thought to have first emerged in Nepal after the Indian variant mutated. The variant is a mutated version of the Indian variant but with a new mutation — called K417N — which has also been spotted on the South African variant. There have been no confirmed cases of the new variant linked to Mount Everest, but there is little Covid surveillance in Nepal.

Source: Daily Mail June 03, 2021 21:09 UTC