| British Health Secretary Matt Hancock. © AFP=News1 |
The British government argued that mutations originating in South Africa are far more dangerous than the COVID-19 variant virus that emerged in their country.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said in an interview with BBC Broadcasting on the 4th (local time) that “the South African mutant virus is a’much bigger problem’ than the British mutant.'”
“It is a very, very important issue that the South African mutation is spreading rapidly in the UK. It is a much bigger issue than the UK’s new virus,” said Hancock.
Earlier, on the 23rd of last month, the British government announced a ban on entry from South Africa, saying that the South African mutant virus has stronger transmission power than the existing virus.
In an interview on the day, Minister Hancock did not disclose any specific reason why the South African virus is more dangerous than the UK.
However, experts in the UK are explaining that the changes in the gene structure of the virus in South Africa are more significant.
Dr. John Bell of Oxford University in the UK told The Times Radio, “Both the UK and South Africa have several different mutations, so it is not a single mutant virus.” A really significant change has happened.”
It also warned that the vaccine could be disabled. “The Corona 19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and Bioentech will be’deactivated’ when such a mutation occurs,” Bell said.
He added, “I have an intuition that the vaccine will still be effective against the virus from the UK.”
The mutant virus, which first appeared in the UK in September, now accounts for more than 60% of new confirmed cases in London and surrounding areas. It spread rapidly around the world and was confirmed in 33 countries including Korea. It is known to be 50-70% more infectious than existing viruses.
The South African mutant virus is also known to be more contagious than the existing virus. After the South African government announced on the 18th that a mutant virus was confirmed in its country, it has spread rapidly, mainly in the coastal area of South Africa. One infected person has also been confirmed in Korea.
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