<Anchor>
There was even an announcement that the mutant virus originating in the UK is not only highly transmitted, but also children can get it.
You should be careful, but experts say that these are the initial results with so many errors that there is no need to be overly fearful.
Subsequently, medical reporter Cho Dong-chan reports.
<Reporter>
The biggest characteristic of the Corona 19 mutant virus from the UK is that a total of 17 mutations appeared at once.
Scientists amazed that there were no more than 12 COVID-19 mutations identified so far.
Moreover, fears aggravated as some of the UK government's advisory group scientists announced that'children can also get sick' after the UK government has announced that it is more infectious than the existing virus.
[Kwon Joon-wook/President of the National Institute of Health: Since the spreading power is so high, if this mutation spreads a little more, the number of children's patients could increase?"
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However, the world-renowned scientific journal Science says that there are many unknowns, and that neither the high transmission power nor the easily infecting children are at a stage that can be taken as facts.
The mutant Corona 19 virus from Spain that appeared in September was also known to have a much higher transmission power and a whopping 50% higher fatality rate at the time, but it was not cleared up in just three months and errors due to initial data that failed to rule out other major causes. It turned out to be because of.
Also, in the case of a mutant virus originating in the UK, the • 9 ORF8 protein is known to lower its propagation power.
Domestic experts have revealed that it is not necessary to have excessive fear based on initial data with a lot of errors, although virus mutations should be watched carefully.