New Mutations in Novel Coronavirus Reported in the UK

British health experts have observed a new mutation in a previously reported sample of a variant called Novel Coronavirus in the UK that may help the virus evade attack by the body’s immune system.

Public Health England has named the new mutation observed in the virus as E484K.
This mutation has previously been observed in mutated viruses reported in South Africa.

Previously, researchers had observed the same mutation, known as the E484K mutation, in the novel coronavirus variant found in Brazil and South Africa, said Jonathan Stoyer, PhD, of the Francis Crick Institute in the United Kingdom.
From a virological point of view, the mutation is not unexpected, and whether it gives the virus a big growth advantage remains to be seen.

A mutant novel coronavirus was announced in the UK in December, and there is evidence that it is more transmissible.