the World health organization WHO examined currently, whether the new Corona variant B.1.1.529 must be classified as worrying. WHO expert Maria van Kerkhove said in a briefing on Thursday. It will also be examined to what extent the variant also has consequences for diagnostics, therapies and vaccination campaigns.
The WHO has several categories for the different corona variants. One of them is the “Variant of Concern” category. One of the “Variants of Concern” is the delta variant of the coronavirus that is currently predominant in Germany. The characteristics of such a variant may include, for example, that it has been proven to increase the transferability of the coronavirus.
The corona variant B.1.1.529 has so far appeared in southern Africa. Experts fear that it could be highly contagious because of an unusually large number of mutations and that it could also penetrate the protective shield of the vaccines more easily. Great Britain and Israel therefore restricted air traffic to some countries in southern Africa as a precaution.