UK's Kent COVID-19 strain could be a dominant variant - UK health program

Many countries have said the South African virus is the worst of the COVID-19 strain; however a UK genomes expert believes otherwise. He says that the Kent strain could be a global problem soon. 

Kent variant could reach all countries 

The coronavirus strain found in Kent may soon be a global variant, according to a study by Britain, head of the genetic surveillance agency. Prof Sharon Peacock spoke to reporters who have been seen in almost every part of the UK and will soon go round the world.

She said her medical team has continued to work with various virus strains and will take a decade for sequencing to be complete. This Kent strain has already been found in more than 51 nations after it was first seen in October 2020 in the southern region of the UK. It has continued to spread uncontrollably for months and was the main reason why new lockdown procedures were activated in Britain. 

The director of coronavirus Genomic in the UK, Dr. Peacock, said 

'' The real issue is about uncontrollable transmission. We need to get the virus to stop being virulent before we stop worrying. Still, until then, we need to be concerned. '' 

Mutations to continue for ten years

She said her team forecast that it would take at least a decade for that to happen. This doesn't mean they believe this pandemic will last for ten years, but we believe the virus would keep mutating till then''. 

Most vaccines in the world are developed based on earlier strains; however, health experts still believe that they could work mainly with the new strain.  

According to the professor, the authorized vaccines could always be effective against many countries' variants. The Kent strain is one of the dominant strains in Europe; however, many feel it doesn't have as severe as the South African strain, which causes more severe symptoms.