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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The United Kingdom finds itself increasingly isolated Monday as a number of countries in Europe and around the world have closed their borders to the U.K. as a result of a new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly there.
The new strain has experts concerned. CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez tells us what we know so far.
Virus experts say this was not unexpected. Viruses often mutate, and not always becoming nastier. Several coronavirus strains have emerged around the world this year, and this particular variant was first detected in Britain in September, but by mid-December it accounted for nearly two thirds of cases in London and southeast England.
CBS News: 18 Million People In U.K. Ordered To ‘Stay At Home’ As New COVID Strain Emerges
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the new strain is 70% more transmissible that the previous coronavirus, but some virus experts question that number, saying new strains can become more common simply by being in the right place at the right time, such as London, which had only tier two restrictions until recently. Now they have gone to tier four restrictions.
While the mutation affects the spike protein on the virus, it appears that the two vaccines authorized so far in the U.S. are effective against this new variant, and there’s no evidence that it causes more serious illness. The mRNA vaccines could be adapted quickly towards a new strain, if need be, similar to flu vaccines.
Experts Gomez has spoken to say it’s too soon to tell how worrisome the new virus variant is: Is it really more infectious and moving to escape the vaccines? That’s concerning enough to search for much more information.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for a travel ban from the U.K. to New York.
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