Scientists say it is currently unclear whether or not the new variant is more transmissible and if vaccines will be less effective against it.
A new coronavirus variant identified in Japan over the weekend has the “potential” to be more infectious, although whether or not this is the case has yet to be determined, health officials have said. The new variant, which differs from others recently found in South Africa and the U.K., was detected in four travelers who arrived in Japan after flying from Brazil’s Amazonas state, Japan’s Health Ministry said on Sunday. Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said it was not immediately clear how infectious the new variant is. “At the moment, there is no proof showing the new variant found in those from Brazil is high in infectiousness,” NIID head Takaji Wakita told a health ministry briefing, according to Reuters. But while the new variant detected in Japan differs from those identified in South Africa and the U.
