With the success news of COVID-19 vaccines, the world was a bit on the calm side after witnessing the largest pandemic of the century. But, the hope of ushering into a healthier 2021 seems doubtful as the United Kingdom (UK) on Sunday cautioned against a highly contagious and mutated strain of coronavirus. PM Boris Johnson placed London and surrounding areas under the most stringent lockdown since March, effectively cancelling Christmas. “When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense,” he said at a press conference. Not just that, but on Sunday, European countries began closing their borders to travelers from the UK, hoping to shut out the new iteration of the pathogen.

A similar version of the virus has emerged in South Africa, shares one of the mutations seen in the British variant, according to scientists who detected it. That virus has been found in up to 90 percent of the samples whose genetic sequences have been analyzed in South Africa since mid-November. Though scientists have emphasized repeatedly that all viruses mutate, and it is in their nature. Even the flu virus mutates and thus vaccines need to be frequently updated. The coronavirus has mutated before, once at the very start of the pandemic. However, scientists are worried about these new variants but not surprised by them. Researchers have recorded thousands of tiny modifications in the genetic material of the coronavirus as it has hopscotched across the world. So far, scientists have noted two distinct set of mutations in the virus that causes COVID-19, the H69/V70 deletion, and the D614G, both of which affects the spike proteins, which helps the virus to bind to the human cell, and infect it. It is this ability that vaccines seek to target and weaken. The H69-70 deletion affects antibody susceptibility, and has been seen three times so far- in Danish minks, in Britain, and in a patient who was rendered much less responsive to convalescent plasma therapy. One key concern about the new strain is whether this will reduce vaccine effectiveness as the new mutation reportedly occurred in the spike protein, which is the target of most vaccines currently under development for COVID-19.

“This thing’s transmitting, it’s acquiring, it’s adapting all the time,” Dr. Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, told the New York Times. “But people don’t want to hear what we say, which is: This virus will mutate.” he added. The British announcement also prompted concern that the virus might evolve to become resistant to the vaccines just now rolling out. The worries

Researchers have recorded thousands of tiny modifications in the genetic material of the coronavirus as it has hopscotched across the world

are focused on a pair of alterations in the viral genetic code that may make it less vulnerable to certain antibodies. But several experts urged caution, saying it would take years and not months for the virus to evolve enough to render the current vaccines impotent.

Looking at the scenario, India has banned all flights from the UK. The air travel ban will stay till 23:59 pm on December 31. The suspension of all UK flights will begin from 23:59 pm on Tuesday. The decision to suspend all UK flights was taken considering the “prevailing situation on the UK”, the government said. In a tweet, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said, “Considering the prevailing situation in UK. The Government of India has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India to be suspended till 31st December 2020 (23.59 hours).” All the passengers of the flights that are arriving in India from the UK till Tuesday will have to be tested on their arrival to detect the new strain of coronavirus.

Worried by the potential influx of travelers carrying the variant, the Netherlands said it would suspend flights from Britain from Sunday until Jan 1. Italy also suspended air travel, and Belgian officials Sunday enacted a 24-hour ban on arrivals from the United Kingdom by air or train. Germany is drawing up regulations limiting travelers from Britain as well as from South Africa. Other countries are also considering bans, among them France, Austria and Ireland. Spain has asked the European Union for a coordinated response to banning flights. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York asked the Trump administration to consider banning flights from Britain.

This mutation brings the concern of economy to the forefront as more lockdown means depletion of economic growth. Few days back, Government experts stated that the Indian economy will come back to pre-COVID levels by the next financial year (2021-22) as it is recovering faster than expected. But the implementation of ban on travelers along with lockdown may again impact the recovery. Share prices were on track for the worst week since the global financial crisis in 2008 as virus-related disruptions to international travel and supply chains fueled fears of recession in the United States and the Euro zone.

The good news is that the technology used in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is much easier to adjust and update than conventional vaccines. The new vaccines also generate a massive immune response, so the coronavirus may need many mutations over years before the vaccines must be tweaked.