Apparently the variant B.1.640.2 of the coronavirus, newly discovered in France, contains more mutations than omicrons. What is known about it so far.

The changes include known mutations in the spike protein . The N501Y mutation is also found in the alpha variant and ensures better binding to human cells , which may make the virus more contagious. E484K is a so-called “escape” mutation that could affect the effectiveness of the vaccine .

“We should observe this as well as other variants, but there is no reason to be particularly concerned about this variant,” Richard Neher, an expert on virus variants at the University of Basel (Switzerland), told the DPA news agency on Tuesday. B.1.640.2 does not seem to spread strongly so far.

Samia Hurst, Vice President of the Federal Council’s scientific Covid-19 task force, shares this view. So far, there is nothing to suggest that the new variant will prevail over Delta or Omikron. You do not see any cause for great concern, said Hurst on Tuesday at the weekly media conference of the experts in Bern. 

The US epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding also wrote on Twitter: “I’m not yet very worried about B.1.640.2. I doubt that it will prevail over Omikron or Delta. “

The new variant was first detected in a person who was returning to France from a trip to Cameroon at the end of November 2021. Their tests showed an “ atypical mutation combination ”. According to media reports , at least twelve people are said to have been infected with B.1.640.2 so far.

B.1.640.2 belongs to a type of variant family that has been on the radar of the World Health Organization (WHO) since November. WHO epidemiologist Abdi Mahamud referred to this in Geneva. According to WHO information, B.1.640 was first reported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September and under observation in November, but has not spread significantly since then, according to the available data, said Mahamud. 

“Don’t take the jab and keep an eye on them.”