Now named Omicron.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-59426277
Prof John Edmunds, a member of the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) which advises the government, says the new variant, B.1.1.529, is a "huge worry" and could escape current Covid vaccines.
"The molecular data is extremely worrying...[it] would point to that perhaps this thing might be able to evade the immune response," he tells BBC Radio 4's PM programme.
Asked if the new variant could be resistant to current vaccines, Edmunds - an infectious diseases expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - confirms this is scientists' "great fear" but it is not yet known to what extent the variant might be able to do so.
"Our fears are it would do so to a large extent," he adds.
Citing cases of the new variant in Belgium and Israel, Prof Edmunds warns the new variant will reach the UK and calls on the government to be prepared to take extra action for when it does.
He says ministers will need to look at whether border restrictions need to be extended, and suggests mass Covid testing and localised measures should be considered alongside making the booster jabs rollout quicker.
Explaining that a "rapid rise" in the new variant in South Africa had followed a "huge wave" of the Delta strain, he warns the UK is "still fighting a Delta wave" and does not want to be "fighting both at the same time" as it could create a "very, very, very difficult situation".
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