New COVID-19 variant identified in the UK but experts say coronavirus vaccines should still be effective

A new variant of the virus causing COVID-19 has been identified in the UK, with the health minister there warning it could be more infectious.

Yet experts around the world say it is not at all unexpected for the SARS-Cov-2 virus to mutate, and there is no evidence yet that this new variant will be harder to control with vaccines.

So, what is going on?

On Monday local time, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed the new variant had been detected in more than 1,100 people in the south of England, particularly around the city of Kent, about 60 kilometres south-east of London.

He said the variant appeared to be spreading faster than the usual SARS-Cov-2 virus.

However, along with many experts, he noted that there was no evidence that the…