Rapid Spread of COVID-19 Variants in New York, US... Concerns Over Reduced Vaccine Effectiveness

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A new variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading in New York, USA. As the variant coronavirus, which is presumed to have strong vaccine resistance, spreads, concerns are growing that the effectiveness of vaccines may weaken.

According to American media including CNN on the 24th (local time), a research team at Columbia University Medical Center announced in a paper published this week that a new variant virus (B.1.526) was found in coronavirus samples collected in New York last November.

The research team stated, "The detection rate of the variant coronavirus has been steadily increasing from the end of December last year to mid-this month," adding, "It has increased to 12.7% in the past two weeks."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The variant coronavirus discovered by the research team is reported to be similar to the variants from South Africa (B.1.351) and Brazil (P.1). In particular, the E484K mutation in the spike protein was commonly identified. The E484K mutation is known to help the virus evade human antibodies more effectively and to have higher resistance to some vaccines.

The South African variant of the coronavirus is highly contagious and known to have strong vaccine resistance, making it a variant that has alarmed public health authorities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.