How big is the menace of the ‘mutant’ SARS-CoV-2 strain?
The detection of a mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2 on Australian soil is causing alarm, with the national cabinet announcing new border measures to shield the nation and the population of Brisbane is being placed in a three-day lockdown.
We talk to two leading virologists about what this mutation means, both in terms of its transmissibility and the efficacy of the vaccines.
Their message: yes, it’s serious but certainly not unexpected and certainly not unmanageable.
The strain, which has been causing the UK so much trouble, was detected in a Queensland quarantine hotel cleaner earlier this week.