COVID-19 Situation: Variants and Concerns
A year after the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Corona Virus) plunged the world into a pandemic, global communities are yet to recover from its devastating effects. This virus doesn’t appear to be ceasing at any
rate as infections continue to increase globally, barely leaving room for health care systems to recover from its previous effects. Scientists are working tirelessly to study/understand the virus and develop an effective cure as it evolves into new variants.
As with all viruses, the novel Coronavirus has undergone several changes (Mutations) over time, spawning variants of the virus. Since the pandemic outbreak, eleven variants of the virus have been discovered, with four of them (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta) categorized as variants of global concern. Scientists have actively tracked these changes to understand the virulence of each new variant and the efficacy of the different vaccines against them.