The delta variant has a mutation that’s worrying experts: Here’s what we know so far

[superadmin]

• A newly-discovered mutation of the delta variant is under investigation in the U.K.
  
• There are worries that it could make the virus yet more transmissible, and could possibly undermine Covid-19 vaccines further.
  
• Still, there are many unknowns surrounding this new descendent of the delta variant and it has not been dubbed a “variant of concern” yet.
  

LONDON — A newly-discovered mutation of the delta variant is being investigated in the U.K. amid worries that it could make the virus even more transmissible and undermine Covid-19 vaccines further.

Still, there are many unknowns surrounding this descendent or subtype of the delta variant — formally known as AY.4.2 — which some are dubbing the new “delta plus” variant.

U.K. government health officials have said it’s too early to tell whether the mutation poses a greater risk to public health than the delta variant, which itself is significantly more infectious than the original Covid-19 strain (and its successor, the alpha variant).

But they have stated that they are monitoring the mutation very closely: it now accounts for 6% of U.K. Covid cases that have been genetically sequenced at a time when infections in the country are rising rapidly.

Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the variant:

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