At a time when the arrival of COVID vaccine seems just a matter of days, the news that a new strain of coronavirus that has its origin in the UK has unnerved all- scientists, virologists and common people alike. The most troubling aspect is the revelation that the new strain has more harming capabilities than its predecessor that wreaked havoc during the last 10 months infecting more than 7.7 crore and killing more than 17 lakh all over the world. If this is an alarming sign, medical world is also facing a big question that has remained largely unanswered till the moment- will the vaccines that are on the threshold of being rolled out be capable of taking care of this more deadly version of the virus? The air of confusion has only thickened as there are conflicting views among experts.

The new tension reportedly has its origin in South and East England where COVID cases have seen a spike recently and it has been attributed to SARS-CoV-2, the new variant which is 70 % more lethal than the current one due to its sheer capability of transmission. Fear has escalated to such a level that almost 25 countries including India have suspended flights to and from the UK at least for a couple of weeks. Adding more to the fear, eight passengers who arrived in India from London over the last couple of days have tested positive for COVID-19. While it is yet to be ascertained whether they have been infected by the new and more-aggressive strain, worries remain. Irrespective of the strain these UK-returned passengers carry, for national safety, all that steps that are necessary must be taken to avoid the big mistake made in late January-mid February this year when international flights were allowed to land in a by and large unrestricted manner. The Central government on Tuesday, however, assured there is nothing to worry about as the new strain has not been found in India till now and there will be no impact on the potential of all the emerging vaccines that will be available for public use shortly. But still, the Union Health Ministry must keep on the hunt for the new variant in the country if the alert issued by the Indian-origin WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan is given importance. Dr Swaminathan on Monday has stated it’s possible that the new version of the virus may be present in several countries and the UK have been able to track it earlier from the rest only because of its dogged genome sequencing pursuit.

After this fresh bout of confusion, for citizens, irrespective of age and profession, the only tools of safety continue to be masks, hand sanitizers and social distancing. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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