China denies new UK COVID-19 variant will impact vaccine response, says 'No need to panic'

A Chinese public health official on Friday assured that the new strain of COVID-19 virus discovered in the United Kingdom will have no effect on the immune response of the vaccine approved by the country recently. A Chinese CDC official, while speaking to the state-owned television, said there is no sign yet to prove that the new variant of the virus can impact the immune response generated by the COVID-19 vaccine approved recently. According to The Guardian, China approved the Sinopharm's CoronaVac vaccine for public use on Thursday. 

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This comes a day after the new variant of the virus was detected in China, in a woman who had recently arrived in the country from Britain. The woman reportedly arrived in China on December 14 and was isolated immediately upon reaching Shanghai. Two days later, the woman tested positive for COVID-19 and it was confirmed that she carried a similar variant detected in the United Kingdom earlier last month. According to virologists, the new strain of the virus spreads faster than all other variants previously detected. 

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China locks down Beijing

China recently reported a cluster of new COVID-19 cases in Beijing, following which it locked down several parts of the capital as a precautionary measure to block the spread of the virus. China also cancelled sporting events and temple fairs ahead of the Lunar New year celebrations as a measure to stop people from gathering in large numbers. The lockdown in Beijing is the first since July 2020, when the authorities decided to impose strict restrictions in the capital after the emergence of several domestic cases. 

Read: China Grants Conditional Approval To Sinopharm's COVID-19 Vaccine With 79% Efficacy

China on Thursday approved the COVID-19 vaccine after manufacturers claimed the efficacy of the treatment to be well above the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Sinopharm, which is a state-owned pharmaceutical firm, said trial results showed its vaccine is 79 percent effective. The approval by the national health commission of China followed trials conducted in the United Arab Emirates reporting over 80 percent efficacy earlier in December. 

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