There’s a New Coronavirus Variant in the UK
Here’s what we know.

By Nicoletta Lanese | Live Science Staff Writer

December 15, 2020 | A new genetic variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has emerged in the United Kingdom, but it’s unlikely to threaten the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, scientists say.

(Image: © Shutterstock)

New “variants” of the coronavirus emerge as the virus makes copies of itself and picks up genetic mutations; the mutations in a given variant may or may not change how the virus infects cells or how easily it spreads, so scientists keep track of the changes to determine which ones might pose a potential risk.

An artist’s depiction of the 2019-nCov novel coronavirus. Coronaviruses get their name for the spikey projections on their surface that resemble the prongs of a crown.
(Image: © Shutterstock)

Now, researchers in the U.K. have identified a new variant that has caused infections in nearly 60 local authority areas, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Dec. 14 while addressing the House of Commons, The Guardian reported. That amounts to more than 1,100 total infections caused by the new variant, predominantly in southern and eastern England, according to a statement from Public Health England (PHE), an agency in the Department of Health and Social Care.