Scientists warn against more 'concerning' mutations in UK; calls for vaccine modification

British scientists fear that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus that was detected in the United Kingdom last year may have mutated further and could beat the vaccines that are currently being administered across the world. According to PTI, scientists warned that the new UK strain of the virus has shown a mutation called E484K, adding the vaccines might not work against it. The mutation has already been seen in the South African variant and was recently detected in a few samples in certain regions of England. 

Read: UK: 11 New Cases Of South African COVID Variant Detected In People With No Travel History

'Concerning' 

Scientists, in a yet-to-be-published study by the University of Cambridge and National Institute for Health Research, said that the new E484K mutation is "concerning" and called for modifications in the vaccines in order to counter new variants. Professor Ravi Gupta, who is the lead author of the study, warned that the existing vaccines might possibly not work against the mutation. Gupta also said that the vaccination drive needs to be scaled-up in order to slow down the spread. 

Read: UK COVID-19 Strain To Become 'more Dominant' In US By End Of March: Anthony Fauci

The new mutation has been detected in 11 samples from Bristol and 32 from Liverpool so far. Health authorities fear that there may be more cases in the country. Mass testing for the new strain has already begun across England. Scientists are still studying what this new mutation might mean for the existing vaccines and how it will contribute to the already mounting cases. 

Read: 'COVAXIN Effective On UK-variant Strain; Neutralisation Activity Observed': ICMR Report

The world was alarmed late last year after the United Kingdom reported a new strain of the virus, followed by South Africa and Brazil. Scientists said that the new strain of the virus is more contagious than all other variants detected previously. Questions were raised about the efficacy of the vaccines against the new variants. Pharmaceutical firms assured that their vaccines are effective against all variants, but also cautioned that the immune response might not be as strong. The companies are currently working to modify the vaccines to make them potent against all variants. 

Read: COVID-19 Variant Brings New Dimension To Europe's Pandemic

(With inputs from PTI)