WHO started monitoring a new variant of coronavirus, it also appeared in Slovakia – SME.sk

GENEVA. The World Health Organization announced on Tuesday that it is monitoring a new variant coronavirus, which was first recorded in January in Colombia. There are fears that it could be resistant to vaccines, the AFP agency reported.

The variant, technically referred to as B.1.621, is called “mi” by the UN Health Agency in its classification in the Greek alphabet. The WHO currently considers it a so-called variant of interest that needs to be further monitored.

This is because this variant of SARS-CoV-2 has several mutations that indicate the risk of resistance to vaccines. According to the WHO, further studies are therefore needed to contribute to a better understanding of it.

“The mi variant has a set of mutations that point to properties that could potentially lead to the virus escaping the immune system,” said a pandemic bulletin issued by the WHO on a regular weekly basis.

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SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, gradually mutates, but most such mutations have no or little effect on the properties of the virus. However, certain mutations can increase the infectivity of the virus, the severity of the disease it causes, or its resistance to vaccines or drugs.

According to the WHO, there are currently four variants of the new coronavirus of concern, including the “alpha”, widespread in at least 193 countries, and the “delta”, which has already been confirmed in 170 states and territories.

The subject of monitoring is currently five variants, including the variant of mi, which has already been detected in other countries of South America, but also in several European countries, including Slovakia, in addition to Colombia.

On a global scale, the prevalence of the mi variant is still low: it currently represents 0.1 percent of the sequenced samples. In Colombia, however, the figure is significantly higher, up to 39 percent, according to AFP.