In December 2020, a new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID19 was widely discovered in UK. Since then, other variants have been identitied. Questions about the characteristics of these variants is rapidly emerging: Is the coronavirus more contagious now? What can we do know to keep our family safe? Will there be more new variants of the coronavirus?
In this blog, we will explore some questions and concerns you may have about the new covid19 variant and see what you can do to best protect your loved ones and yourelf.
Where has it come from?
The variant is unusually highly mutated.
The most likely explanation is the variant has emerged in a patient with a weakened immune system that was unable beat the virus.
Instead their body became a breeding ground for the virus to mutate.
Does the new variant make the infection more deadly?
There is no evidence to suggest that it does, although this will need to be monitored.
However, just increasing transmission would be enough to cause problems for hospitals.
If the new variant means more people are infected more quickly, that would in turn lead to more people needing hospital treatment. That would put more pressure on the health system tha has already been stretched out to its limit.
Why is this variant causing concern?
Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention:
- It is repidly replacing other versions of the virus
- It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be important
- Some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells
All of these come together to build a case for a virus that can spread more easily.
However, we do not have absolute certainty. New strains can become more common simply by being in the right place at the right time – such as London, which had only tier two restrictions until recently.
Could a new COVID19 variant affect children more frequently than earlier strains?
Stuart Ray, an expert in SARS-CoV-2, says that although experts in areas where the new strain is appearing have found an increased number of cases in children, he notes that the data show that kids are being infected by old variants, as well as the new ones. “There is no convincing evidence that any of the variants has special propensity to infect or cause disease in children, We need to be vigilant in monitoring such shifts, but we can only speculate at ths at this point,” he says.
What can we do to stay safe?
Scientists are working hard to learn how the virus is mutating to search for a search. What can we do to help stop the potential spread and keep the community safe?
Like what we have been doing for the past 10 months, wearing face masks when going outside, not leaving your house when it’s not necessary, washing your hands frequently, and praticing soical distancing remain as the important ways to curb the spread.
In terms of cleaning and disinfecting, Vital Oxide is effective against COVI19 variants. For businesses and community organitizations, we recommend using an ULV cold fogger or electrostaic sprayer to apply Vital Oxide disinfectant to deliver a better and even coverage, reduce cross-contamination, and save time & costs. For household use, a junior fogger is recommended since it is compact, lightweight, and easy to use.
