Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Covid: What are Delta and Mu variants and symptoms? And do vaccines protect us from them?

Covid was thought to be behind the decrease

Since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, new variants of the virus have emerged – some with different symptoms and others with varying degrees of risk.

It is normal for a virus to mutate over time as it spreads through the population.

Mutations can cause viruses to spread more easily and evade vaccines designed to protect against it.

But how has the coronavirus mutated throughout the pandemic, and should we be worried about the new and emerging variants?

Alpha

The Alpha variant of Covid-19 was first identified in the UK last November. It is thought to be 40-80% more transmissible than previous forms of the virus.

As well as the typical Covid symptoms including a persistent cough, loss of or changes to taste and smell, and a high temperature, symptoms of the Alpha variant are thought to include:

  • Chills
  • Loss of appetite
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches

Beta

First identified in South Africa, the Beta variant was detected in October 2020 and reported that December.

It contains several mutations helping it bind to human cells more easily.

The symptoms of the Beta variant are consistent with the symptoms linked to the original virus.

As of June, the UK had recorded more than 900 cases of the beta variant. 

Delta

The Delta variant has become the dominant variant of coronavirus in many countries and in the UK it now makes up more than 99% of all Covid cases.

It was first identified in India last October and has since spread to more than 160 countries.

The additional symptoms of the Delta variant include:

  • Headache
  • Sneezing
  • Runny nose
  • Sore throat

A study published in August showed that people infected with the Delta variant were almost twice as likely to need hospital treatment than those infected with the Alpha variant.

Mu

The Mu variant is one of the latest variants to emerge. Thought to have originated in Colombia, it was discovered in January this year.

At the start of September, 32 people in the UK had been identified as being infected with the Mu variant.

But how does it compare to the Delta variant?

Early research suggest it is less easily transmitted than Delta. It is currently considered a Variant of Interest by the World Health Organisation (WHO), as opposed to a Variant of Concern, like the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants.

Are the vaccines effective against the variants?

It is possible that vaccines will be less effective at protecting against variants that did not exist when the jags were first created.

However, manufacturers are confident their vaccines are effective at protecting against the variants that have emerged in the past few months.

Analysis by Public Health England revealed two doses of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca are more than 90% effective against hospitalisations for Covid-19 caused by Delta.

However, a single dose is less effective at preventing illness from Delta, compared to effectiveness against Alpha.

As we continue through the pandemic, it’s likely new strains and variants of coronavirus will keep emerging.

But as we learn more, the options available to us to combat the variants will further develop too.