By Lucky Ekpenriebe
A recently identified mutation of the delta variant of COVID-19 is being investigated in the United Kingdom (UK) creating the fears that it could make the virus even more transmissible and further erode Covid-19 vaccines efforts.
In the midst of this discovery, there are many yet unknown facts surrounding this variation of the delta variant, known as AY.4.2, which some people are classifying as the new “delta plus” variant.
Health officials of the U.K. Government have said it’s too early to tell whether the mutation poses a greater risk to public health than the delta variant, which itself is significantly more infectious than the original COVID-19 strain, and its successor, the alpha variant.
However, experts have stated that they are monitoring the mutation very closely, which now accounts for 6% of U.K. COVID-19 cases that have been genetically sequenced at a time when infections in the country are rising rapidly.
