As new variants of the Covid-19 virus emerge, scientists are tracking how easily they spread and whether the virus is getting better at evading the protection provided by vaccines.
While virus mutations are natural, understanding whether some new variants are improving the pathogen’s ability to spread, infect or reduce the effectiveness of vaccines is a key part of pandemic control. Health experts agree that vaccinations and other measures to reduce disease spread are critical to blocking new strains emerging.
Current focus is on the highly transmissible Delta variant, thought to be behind a recent rise in infections in many countries, but researchers are keeping a watchful eye on other strains further along the Greek alphabet – like Lambda and Epsilon.
COVID Asia: Indonesia finds Chinese vaccine weaker against delta
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Researchers strain to stay ahead of Covid-19 variants in pandemic race
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