Breaking: New COVID-19 variant under investigation in UK, according to PHE

A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 is under investigation in the UK, according to Public Health England (PHE). The variant is currently known as B.1.621 and it has not received a Greek letter designation under the new rules of the World Health Organization.

The agency confirmed that 16 cases of the B.1.621 variant have been identified across the country to date, and the majority have been linked to overseas travel. Currently there is no evidence of community transmission, but PHE has decided to move the variant to the “Variant under investigation” category.

“There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or makes currently deployed vaccines less effective. EPS is performing laboratory tests to better understand the impact of mutations on the behavior of the virus, “PHE said in a statement.

There are currently 286,765 cases of COVID caused by the Delta variant in the UK. This variant is responsible for 99% of the total.