Second new variant identified

[Coolieloach]

Just listening to Matt Hancock- I second mutation brought in from South Africa- I honestly didn’t think it could get any worse 😬

Unbelievable. Well it’s not the way it’s been going but how much worse can this get?

Is this the same variant that has been reported previously? South Africa identified another strain a few months ago so I’m wondering whether both mutations are similar/linked in some way.

It isn't a second new variant. It's yet another variant. Viruses evolving happens continually, there have already been loads of variants recorded. I do wish politicians would stop trying to talk about science like they know anything about it. They can barely manage politics, never mind science. There is literally "nothing to see here" and ministers scaremongering is irresponsible. What is critical is "does something become more lethal?" - and there is no evidence that is the case. Most viruses are not in the business of being lethal, and this one is of that ilk too. Let's not inflate this beyond what it is. There is a virus, it transmits quite easily (many do) and because we have neither natural defences nor have we personally yet had a vaccine, we need to be careful, but not hysterical. Nothing in that message has changed.

Thanks for the grounding @Moondust001, I need that!

@moondust101 best post ever on mn. I really needed to read that response. Thank you.

Sorry I meant @Moondust001

This is just neverending. Feels like life as we know it is over forever now.

@Moondust001 thank you. You've just saved me from a full-on panic attack.

Thank you Moondust. Currently having a bit of an anxiety meltdown and desperately needed to read something like that.

@Moondust001 also a thank you from me. Have been doing well not to get overly hysterical but the news of the SA strain was starting to tip me. Your post has grounded me again.

At the risk of sounding incredibly uneducated, I also currently have a shocking dose of Covid so please be kind Can you catch each of these mutations individually?

I know Flu mutates and the vaccination is adjusted accordingly so is this the same here?

So for example I am in one of the top London boroughs for infection so assume I have this new strain could I then go on to catch the one they are talking about today?

Would suggest following Tulio de Oliveira on Twitter for info and updates on South African variant @Tuliodna
Bio: Director KRISP at UKZN, South Africa. Associate Professor Global Health, Univ. Washington. Genomics, Bioinformatics and Outbreak response to emergent viruses.
mobile.twitter.com/Tuliodna

@DigitalGhost

This is just neverending. Feels like life as we know it is over forever now.

Cheery!

The South African variant actually sounds quite similar to the one we have here, there was speculation somewhere it was the same one.

Good news here is that antibodies last 8 months and unless the spike protein change a lot more than it's done so far they'll still work medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-covid-immunity-months-reveals.html

@jourdain11 hard to stay cheery when I've an 8 month old baby that has met my entire family once because of all this 😫 so fed up.

Second new '' concerning '' variant.

@Moondust001 - please can you be our minister for health?

Hancock needs to be stopped.

It is completely irresponsible for him to open his mouth every 5 minutes with yet another scare story without having the facts first (is it more contagious/deadly, does it affect the vaccine, what is the plan to address this...).

The communication is atrocious

All this is achieving is to drive people insane or to make them think ''we are doomed anyway so what is the point of following any of the rules''.

I think this government will end up killing more people than the virus itself...

[quote DigitalGhost]@jourdain11 hard to stay cheery when I've an 8 month old baby that has met my entire family once because of all this 😫 so fed up. [/quote]
Yeah, so am I, but saying things like "this is forever" helps no one, least of all yourself.

@jourdain11 then move along. I'm allowed to feel however I like.

@Moondust001 Thank you for pulling me off the ceiling!

@Requinblanc

Hancock needs to be stopped.

It is completely irresponsible for him to open his mouth every 5 minutes with yet another scare story without having the facts first (is it more contagious/deadly, does it affect the vaccine, what is the plan to address this...).

The communication is atrocious

All this is achieving is to drive people insane or to make them think ''we are doomed anyway so what is the point of following any of the rules''.

I think this government will end up killing more people than the virus itself...

But he does have some facts and he gave them. Are you actually watching him or just watching comments on here?

Moondust excellent post.

I've read in numerous sources it's a variant of the variant we've had here - in that it is on N501Y.
The more I've read of science the more it seems covid 19 is behaving similarly in its mutations even when they differ slightly geographically.

Hopefully it'll make its path easier to track.

I just get the impression they say this about the new variants etc to make people comply with the restrictions even more and make changing tiers more palatable.
It can do the opposite too , so it's a fine balance.
People want to now know what this new variant is and who it affects?
It could get muddled in translation.

[quote DigitalGhost]@jourdain11 then move along. I'm allowed to feel however I like. [/quote]
Yeah, but just be aware of how what you say can make others feel also.