What We Know About Covid 19: The New Strain

Coronavirus has changed the world drastically. The unprecedented scale of the pandemic restricted each one of us to our homes for several months. Having cost millions of lives across the globe, the virus is still active and looming large. Though most people have resumed their daily activities with proper precautions, the effect of the virus is still unchanged. During covid-19 spread, people suffering from other diseases are preferring to visit COVID safe hospital. At the end, we haven’t returned to our normal life, and this is the ‘new normal’ according to various environmental activists and scientists. First-line workers like doctors, nurses, other medical staff, and police have risked their own health and safety to protect us. Scientists are working harder each day to discover effective COVID-19 vaccines and some have been successful.

The Introduction of New Covid-19 Strain

Now, the human trials for the vaccines have also begun in certain countries. But recently, to add to this horrendous state, a new variant of Coronavirus has been identified in various parts of the United Kingdom and Wales. Viruses mutate constantly and form new variants over time. Sometimes these mutations are powerful, allowing the new variant to cause more damage than the original virus. Other times, the new variant emerges but is not as potent as the original virus, and disappears on its own. This is not the first variant of Coronavirus, however.

There have been other variants of Coronavirus, identified and documented in the United States of America and other countries formerly. Scientists are working on this new strain to understand its characteristics and learn more about how easily it can spread, and how effective will be the currently authorized vaccines upon it. There is no certain information so far on how severe the new variant is. But if other variants were identified earlier, how is this new variant in the UK different from those? Here’s how:

1.The recently identified COVID-19 variant, named B.1.1.7, in the United Kingdom has emerged along with an unusually large number of variants. Studies have shown that this new variant is spreading more quickly and easily compared to other variants. Scientists are not certain whether the variant causes severe illness or not. This variant was observed around September 2020 and has spread highly in London, South England, and Wales. This variant has also been identified in the United States and Canada. Few patients in India have also been tested positive for this new variant.

2.Though this new strain has been rapidly spreading, it is also responding to the authorized COVID vaccines. The doctors are vaccinating the patients affected with this new variant with the same vaccines used for the original variant of the virus. But we are still not sure about the effects of this new variant and scientists are working on unraveling them. They have been concentrating on how the new variant differs from the original one and what vaccines can be developed to control the effects of the virus more efficiently. 

3.The rapid transmission of the virus has increased during November and December 2020 and many have been infected by the new strain instead of the original one. One of the reasons for the rapid spread of this new variant is the mutation in the spikes of the virus. Coronaviruses have been named so for the crown-like spikes present on the viruses’ surface. The variant’s mutated spikes attach themselves to our healthy cells. Because of the large mutation in the spikes, the new variant has become easily communicable. 

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

The only way of protecting ourselves is to continue the safety precautions and maintain social distancing. To keep yourself completely COVID safe,follow below instructions:

1.Always wear a mask and avoid touching things in public places.

2.Wash your hands before having any edibles.

3.Keep a sanitizer with you whenever you step out of the house.

4.Avoid contact with anyone who has symptoms of Covid-19

For those, who are suffering from diseases or other health issues, Saroj Hospital located in Rohini is the Best Hospital in Delhi which is always open for them. This hospital is open for multiple facilities including OPD, Surgeries, Lab testing etc. This COVID safe hospital in Delhi has experienced surgeons, doctors and medical staff. This hospital is also open for Covid-19 testing services.