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The new and apparently more contagious variant of the corona virus has also been detected in China for the first time.
The mutated virus was found in a 23-year-old from Shanghai, who entered from Great Britain on December 14, the Chinese health authorities said on Wednesday.
Numerous countries, including Germany, have already reported the occasional occurrence of the mutation.
Experts fear that the variant could be significantly more contagious than the original form of the coronavirus.
However, there is no evidence that the virus variant is more dangerous for individuals.
The authorities have granted conditional marketing authorization for the corona vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm.
This means that "high-risk groups" can now be vaccinated against the coronavirus, Zeng Yixin, vice director of China's National Health Commission, told journalists.
According to Sinopharm, the vaccine is 79 percent effective.
Unlike other vaccines, the Chinese vaccine does not use genetic engineering.
Rather, it is based on the classic method of triggering an immune reaction through killed coronaviruses.
Even before approval, around 4.5 million vaccine doses had been administered in China, particularly to health care workers or employees of state-owned companies.
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