Scientists Find Spin-Off of UK Variant With Vaccine-Hindering Feature of SA Strain

Only 11 cases of the variant spin-off have been detected

People hand in tests at a drive-in testing station as local authorities prepare to deploy COVID-19 testing in an effort to track down a South African CCP virus variant found in the area in Walsall, United Kingdom, Feb. 2, 2021. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A spin-off mutation of the UK variant of the CCP virus has emerged with the same potentially vaccine-hindering protein structure as the South African and Brazilian variants, according to English health officials.

Studies show that while vaccines are effective against the South African variant, it is with less potency than with the “standard” variants or the UK variant.