The outbreak of the deadly CORONA in early 2020 shook the globe economically and shattered the hopes and expectations of the people, virtually pausing all the daily activities worldwide. While people got used to the effects of the pandemic, there came the hopes of vaccination. As cases and the need for hospitalizations increased, the pressure to develop the vaccines also heightened, and today it is an utmost necessity.

When the whole world started forgetting the pandemic and slowly resumed to normal life and was in the celebratory mood to enter the New Year, UK made news about the new strain of SARS –CoV-2. The new mutant has scared both health officials and virologists worldwide. Despite the strains of the CORONA virus is not been a new topic over the months, we need to understand why this particular strain is taking up all the limelight in recent days.

The new mutant is more contagious than its predecessors and is upsetting the normal life of the people in south and east England. It is 70% easily transmissible than its counterparts and according to epidemiologists the spikes with which they adhere to the active cells are mutated, making the infection spread at a faster rate; upon that, this new UK-based strain is able to reproduce exponentially.

For now, there is no such evidence if the new strain will not be affected by the vaccine and causes severe infections, except the fact that it is quickly transmittable. However, research about this B117 is still going on and with not many officially confirmed details, the only hope for the people is to stick to the hygienic rules. While vaccines are yet to get approval in India, it is advisable to stay indoors as much as possible, and as they say ‘There is always a light at the end of the tunnel’, we people have to stay strong and support each other at these unprecedented times without getting disheartened.