Editor's Pick: With new virus variant, is it back to square one?

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 22, December 2020 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick With new virus variant, is it back to square one? [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) Indian and global markets [took a deep plunge on Monday]( after reports of a new strain of the coronavirus in the U.K solidified over the weekend. Meanwhile, several nations have suspended flights from and to the U.K.,[with India doing so till December 31](. [The mutant virus]( is causing alarm as preliminary findings in the U.K. indicate that it is 70% more transmissible than the original. Named VUI-202012/01, the variant's 23 mutations are an unusually high number, leading to the assumption that it originated in a single patient who fostered the virus for a long time. A key mutation that has been identified is to the spike protein, allowing it to link to human cells more easily and hence transmit faster. There are no indications yet that the new variant increases the intensity of COVID-19 or is more fatal. Yesterday's global market rout follows an upswing after the vaccines against COVID-19 had hit the market. The market response as well as the travel ban are throwbacks to the early days of the pandemic and raise apprehensions of more lockdowns. Scientists, however, say that the current vaccines could be just as effective against the new variant. Vaccines generate antibodies that target multiple points on the virus. Experts do not think the virus has reached a stage of 'vaccine escape', when the mutations are so many that the vaccines are no longer effective. In this context, the market reaction can be seen as premature and the travel ban as precautionary. What the variant does show is that the virus is continuously changing. While many other variations had been identified earlier, this is by far the most different. This raises the possibility of 'vaccine escape' and of the science and society going back to square one. This is what makes the story important. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( The Big Story [Law to keep checks, controls over private hospitals mooted]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Centre halts flights to and from U.K. till Dec. 31]( [alt_text]( [IBC suspension extended till March 2021]( From the Opinion Pages [alt_text]( [Tamil Nadu politics after the matriarch, patriarch]( [alt_text]( [Key steps to get this spectrum auction right]( Today's Editorials Nepal in turmoil: [On dissolution]( of Parliament by Oli [Virus variant: On temporary trav](el ban from U.K. You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b45fgddbf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkcb@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2020 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](