(VOVWORLD) - A new COVID-19 variant called “Deltacron” has been discovered in Europe and the United States. It is a hybrid between the delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus, also known by scientists as the AY.4/BA.1 recombinant.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Deltacron has been detected in small numbers in European countries such as France, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. Two cases of Deltacron have also been discovered in the US, according to The New York Times.
Scientists say this variant of COVID-19 is not a “variant of concern” as classified by the WHO and that it is “extremely rare.”
The spike protein is crucial to the virus’s ability to invade cells and is also the main target of antibodies that come from infections and vaccines. Therefore, scientists say the vaccines on the market should work just as well with the new variant as it does with the variants already in circulation.