A new mutant of the highly dangerous Delta variant of the Coronavirus has been detected in the United Kingdom (UK), the country’s Health Security Agency (HAS) has revealed.
Named “AY.4.2,” the mutant first emerged in the UK in July this year. It contains Y145H and A222V mutations, which have previously been found in a number of Coronavirus variants since the start of the pandemic.
Although Delta variant remains the dominant strain across the UK, AY.4.2, which is being dubbed as ‘Delta Plus,’ accounts for 6% of the total cases in the UK.
According to a statement by the NHA, AY.4.2 contains mutations that may enable it to become more transmissible and vaccine-resistant. Tests are underway to understand how dangerous exactly it may become in the coming months.
So far, NHA has not categorized Delta Plus as a variant of concern or variant under surveillance, categories assigned to COVID-19 variants based on their rate of infections.
On the other hand, health experts have claimed that it is unlikely that the AY.4.2 would snowball into something like Alpha or Delta strains, the two variants which wreaked havoc across the UK.
Speaking in this regard, the Director of Genetics Institute at the University College London, Prof. Francois Balloux, said that Delta Plus is potentially a marginally more infectious strain.
He added that Delta Plus is likely to be 10% more transmissible, which is nothing in comparison with Alpha and Delta variants, which were 50-60% more transmissible.
The UK government has already started administering booster shots of Coronavirus vaccines to its high-risk population to ensure they have maximum protection against the virus.
Existing COVID-19 vaccines are expected to offer considerable protection against all variants of the virus and there is no data that suggests that a modified vaccine would be needed to boost immunity.
Besides the UK, a few cases of the Delta Plus variant have been detected in the US and Denmark as well.