© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Disease Expert Explains The New COVID Mutation That's Shut Down Britain

Ways To Subscribe
The U.K. already began rolling out its own vaccination, made by Pfizer-BioNTech with the company's representatives stating it is likely to be effective against the new mutation, and if it's proved not to be, it can be adapted quickly.
Rerych Zdenek/Cover Images/CTK
/
Cover Images
The U.K. began rolling out its own vaccination, made by Pfizer-BioNTech with the company's representatives stating it is likely to be effective against the new mutation, and if it's proved not to be, it can be adapted quickly.

A coronavirus mutation detected in England last month has since swept the United Kingdom, leading to a strict, new lockdown that has closed schools and driven Britons back into their homes.

The variant, called B117, has since been found in dozens of countries, including the United States.

The variant has been confirmed in COVID cases in Colorado, California, Florida and New York, but experts suspect it is far more widespread in the United States.

Coronaviruses mutate frequently and it's rarely a cause for concern, but according to London’s Imperial College, this variant has caused the virus to become between 50 and 70% more transmissible.

Dr. Ricardo Carrion, a virologist at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, leads us on a deep dive into coronaviruses, this mutation, and what it may mean for the newly developed coronavirus treatments and vaccines.

Reported and Produced by: Bonnie Petrie and Dominic Anthony Walsh

Sound Design and Music: Jacob Rosati

Executive Producer: Fernanda Camarena

Host: Bonnie Petrie

TPR News Director: Dan Katz

Texas Newsroom Managing Editor: Mark Memmott

TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.