Yet another new variant of the COVID-19 virus has been identified as a dozen people were infected in the south of France, allegedly brought in by a traveller from Cameroon, Africa..The new variant — IHU, identified in mid-November — caught the attention of Yale medical studies and the World Health Organization (WHO)..According to an early study on IHU — a.k.a. B.1.640.2 — there are 46 mutations linked to the strain..That number is comparable to the Omicron strain, which has approximately 50 mutations..IHU hasn’t reached the WHO “variants of concern” list yet, but is being monitored as a high-risk category..The study is yet to be peer reviewed, but is catching attention of many, including epidemiologist & health economist Eric Feigl-Ding..“There are scores of new variants discovered all the time, but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous. What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus,” said Feigl-Ding in a Twitter thread..“This is when it becomes a variant of concern, like Omicron,” said Feigl-Ding, adding those variants are more contagious..“It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall.”.Ewa Sudyk is a reporter with the Western Standard..esudyk@westernstandardonline.com
