New coronavirus variants complicate the battle against the pandemic



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The emergence of new variants of the virus that causes Covid-19 – including one in the UK which UK officials say could be deadlier than previous versions – heralds a future in which health authorities are locked in. a cat and mouse battle with a shape-changing pathogen.

Faster-spreading coronavirus strains that researchers fear could also make people sicker or make vaccines less effective threaten to prolong lockdowns and lead to more hospitalizations and deaths, epidemiologists warn . But, they said, that doesn’t mean the contagion can’t be contained.

“We live in a world where the coronavirus is so widespread and rapidly changing that new variants are going to appear,” Anthony Harnden, a doctor who advises the British government, told Sky News. “We may well be in a situation where we will end up having to have an annual vaccine against the coronavirus” to deal with emerging strains.

As the new variant in the UK has spread across the country, hospitals have come under more pressure than they were during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring, and the national death toll from Covid -19 is expected to exceed 100,000 in the coming days. But in the week that ended Sunday, new daily cases were down 22% from the previous seven days.

Matt Hancock, Britain’s Health Secretary, said this was due to national restrictions in place since the start of the year. But in a TV interview, Mr Hancock warned, “We’re a long, long, long way” before cases are low enough for restrictions to be lifted.

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