Vietnam Finds New Virus Variant, Hybrid of India, UK Strains

Vietnam Finds New Virus Variant, Hybrid of India, UK Strains
A health worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) conducts a COVID-19 swab test on a student at the Vinschool private school in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 22, 2021. Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

HANOI, Vietnam—Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the UK, the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.

Nguyen Thanh Long said scientists examined the genetic makeup of the virus that had infected some recent patients, and found the new version of the virus. He said lab tests suggested it might spread more easily than other versions of the virus.