Sri Lanka is on alert about the SARS-CoV-2 variant A.30, which was found to be heavily mutated and escaping vaccine-induced antibodies, says the State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals.
Speaking to the media, Prof. Channa Jayasumana urged the public to adhere to health guidelines properly to prevent the spread of the virus.
A group of German researchers, in a study published in the British weekly scientific journal ‘Nature’, revealed that the A.30 variant probably originated in Tanzania and was detected in individuals in Angola and in Sweden.
It reportedly presents significant mutations in the spike protein, which the vaccine produced antibodies target.
However, according to experts, the variant is most likely already extinct and there is no need to be overly concerned about it, as only a handful of cases of the variant have been recorded in the world, none in the past five months.
-with inputs from agencies
