Covid-19 Update: New Variant Detected in France

Researchers have detected a new Covid-19 variant in Europe. This new strain has suffered several mutations, and it was responsible for infecting students from a school in Bretagne, France. Local media reported that 24 students and staff members were close contacts, and 18 were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

What do we know about the B.1.X variant?

According to media reports, this variant, B.1.X, also known as B.1.640, was firstly detected in Europe in France, and European health organizations are keeping a close eye on it. The same sources mention that cases of people infected with this new variant have been detected in the U.K, Scotland, Italy, and Switzerland.

This new variant has some new mutations to its spike protein, but it is unclear if the new variant is more or less infectious compared to other strains such as the Delta or Alpha variants. Some experts speculate this strain could have originated from the African continent, where many remain skeptical towards vaccination, and vaccine equity has been a real issue.

France has over 75.1% of its population vaccinated

The most recent statistics show that over 1000,781,943 doses have been administered in France, and vaccine mandates have become a reality. The French Government issued a vaccine mandate for all health workers, including ambulance drivers, hospital staff, retirement home workers, and more. Because some refused to follow the mandate, the European country decided to suspend over 3000 health workers who were unvaccinated at the time the vaccine mandate took effect.

This happened in September, and since then, the country has been trying to keep the pandemic under control and impose the green certificate as the norm to enter several places, including restaurants.
Other European countries have been issuing vaccine mandates and using green passes to help speed up vaccination campaigns. Austria has ruled lockdown for unvaccinated people.