LONDON (Reuters) – Two new variants of COVID-19, one of which has been classified as “concern”, have been identified in England with some similarities to the South African and Brazilian variants, a government advisory scientific committee said on Tuesday. .
One of the new variants, first identified in Bristol, was designated as “Variant of Concern” by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group.
The other, first identified in Liverpool, was designated “Variant under Investigation” by the group.
The new variants have the E484K mutation, which occurs in the virus spike protein, the same change already observed in the South African and Brazilian variants that caused international concern.
Public Health England has identified 76 cases of the new variants and is confident that vaccines will work against them.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Michael Holden)