{"id":2224,"date":"2021-01-21T15:31:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T07:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2224"},"modified":"2021-01-21T16:09:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T08:09:22","slug":"the-new-covid-19-variants-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/the-new-covid-19-variants-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The new COVID-19 variants: Everything you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SARS-CoV-2 (aka the novel coronavirus or COVID-19) has caused enough havoc in the world as it is, so news about new variants of the disease was alarming, to say the least. What exactly is the new variant? What has its impact on society been? And most importantly, will the recently developed vaccine protect us from it? Find out the answer to these pressing questions in this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pacific Prime UK<\/a> article.<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0; clear: both;'>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/compare-quotes\/step-one\/?campSource=PPUK-Blog&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content_banner&utm_campaign=banner&utm_content=single\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-774\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PPUK-blog-banners-1138x493-px_02-03.jpg?resize=700%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Individual health insurance blog\" width=\"700\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2>New variants of the SARS-Cov-2 virus<\/h2>\n<p>Viruses are known to reproduce very rapidly. To do so, they introduce their genetic material into the cells of their host, where it\u2019s copied. Errors occurred during the copying process can result in small changes in the genetic material &#8211; in other words, a virus mutation. All viruses naturally mutate over time, and things are no different with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.<\/p>\n<p>There are a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/more\/science-and-research\/scientific-brief-emerging-variants.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">few different variants<\/a> of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, named based on where they\u2019ve been discovered:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>UK variant<\/li>\n<li>South African variant<\/li>\n<li>Brazil variant (Detected in Brazillian travellers in Japan)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Transmissibility<\/h3>\n<p>A big issue regarding the new variants is that they are potentially more transmissible, which means it&#8217;s easier for an infected person to spread the virus to a non-infected person. Although there isn\u2019t yet clear data on exactly how transmissible the new variants are, experts believe it to be anywhere between 30% and 80% more than the original strain.<\/p>\n<p>Simply put, the virus being more transmissible means that more people will be infected. What\u2019s more, with more people infected out there, the chances of a non-infected person interacting with an infected person is higher, which increases the risk of transmission. Nevertheless, there aren\u2019t any major changes in how people should be conducting themselves.<\/p>\n<p>You should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-51711227\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">protect yourself by<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Washing your hands regularly (or using hand sanitiser)<\/li>\n<li>Putting on a face covering when in a confined setting<\/li>\n<li>Keeping at least 2 metres apart when around other people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Impact of the new variant on the UK and the rest of the world<\/h2>\n<p>The UK announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-55538937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new lockdown for England and Scotland<\/a>, which is expected to last until mid-February. P.M. Boris Johnson has said that the new SAR-CoV-2 variant has been \u201cboth frustrating and alarming\u201d, and that hospitals were under \u201cmore pressure from COVID-19 than at any time since the start of the pandemic\u201d. As such, people are urged to stay at home, except for essential reasons.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to this, the UK brought on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/explainers-52544307\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new travel rules<\/a>, requiring passengers to test negative for COVID-19 before arrival and suspending all travel corridors, which has previously enabled arrivals from certain low-risk countries to avoid quarantine in the UK. Similarly, the new variant in the UK prompted other countries to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-55385768#:~:text=European%20nations%20have%20begun%20to,rules%20also%20affect%20Channel%20freight.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shut their borders to UK travellers<\/a>. With that said, the new variant from the UK has already been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg24933184-100-global-spread-of-uk-coronavirus-variant-could-overwhelm-health-systems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported in 55 countries<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Vaccine effectiveness on new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus<\/h2>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/20\/health\/covid-vaccines-protect-from-variants\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research from the Rockefeller University<\/a>, although the new variants were able to evade some of the immunity induced by vaccination, this wasn\u2019t a complete escape and there\u2019s evidence that the current vaccines will work on the new variants. The researchers discovered this by conducting tests on 20 people who got two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>Those who received the vaccines produced strong antibody response, as well as cells that produced new antibodies for months or years. Their plasmas were then taken and measured against the variants. Dr. Michel Nussenzweig, team lead for this research, said: &#8220;When you start putting all these mixtures of antibodies together, what it means is that together they can take care of the variants.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Take health matters into your own hands. Secure health insurance via Pacific Prime UK today.<\/h2>\n<p>Even though the UK has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/an-overview-of-the-united-kingdom-healthcare-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">comprehensive tax-payer funded health system<\/a>, there have been concerns regarding the system being overwhelmed, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been difficult for individuals to get the healthcare they need, which can lead to problems aggravating. Unfortunately, private healthcare is bank-breakingly expensive and not commonly accessed by most people.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to access private healthcare, without paying out of pocket, consider securing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/plans\/individual\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">private health insurance UK<\/a>. You may also be able to benefit from telehealth consultation with doctors, as well as world-class healthcare without having to face long wait times. What\u2019s more, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/international-health-insurance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">international health insurance<\/a> plans give you medical coverage abroad when travelling or if you ever decide to relocate.<\/p>\n<p>As an established and reputable health insurance broker, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pacific Prime UK<\/a> can offer you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">impartial insurance consultation<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/compare-health-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tailored plan comparison<\/a>. Whatever your needs or budget, our knowledgeable insurance advisors will shortlist appropriate plans for you. Our service also includes administration assistance, insurer liaison, and claims support &#8211; all at no additional charge to you versus going directly to the insurer.<\/p>\n<p>Want to learn more? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Contact us<\/a> today!<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-6' style='margin: 8px 0; clear: both;'>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/compare-quotes\/step-one\/?campSource=PPUK-Blog&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta_banner&utm_campaign=banner&utm_content=quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-781\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PPUK_quote-image-01-1.jpg?resize=700%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Get an Insurance quote banner\" width=\"700\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SARS-CoV-2 (aka the novel coronavirus or COVID-19) has caused enough havoc in the world as it is, so news about new variants of the disease was alarming, to say the least. What exactly is the new variant? What has its impact on society been? And most importantly, will the recently developed vaccine protect us from &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[767,1234,768,40,1303,316],"class_list":["post-2224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ban_sin","tag-covid-19","tag-cta_gen","tag-international-health-insurance","tag-new-covid-19-variants","tag-private-health-insurance"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rsz_coronavirus-4914026_1280_2.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcnTsc-zS","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2227,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions\/2227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}