London | The new British variant of COVID-19 has evolved a mutation similar to that of the South African and Brazilian strains, which strips 90 per cent from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine’s efficacy, scientists have warned.
As Britain began door-to-door testing to battle the South African variant, Public Health England said several new clusters with no link to Africa suggested that the British B117 strain was acquiring the E484K mutation – which could reduce the effectiveness of one of the premier vaccines.
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Reuters
Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London. Connect with Hans on Twitter. Email Hans at hans.vanleeuwen@afr.com
