Japan's new 'immune evasion' variant... "Cannot guarantee vaccine effectiveness"

Japan Reports 1,537 New COVID-19 Cases... Spread Slows but New Variant Virus Emerges as Challenge
National Institute of Infectious Diseases Confirms Variant Virus Different from Those Found in the UK and Others

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As Japan's daily COVID-19 cases have remained below 2,000 for 12 consecutive days, indicating a slowdown in the spread, the emergence of variant viruses has become a new challenge.

According to NHK on the 19th, the previous day's daily COVID-19 cases in Japan were confirmed at 1,537. Consequently, the cumulative number of confirmed cases rose to 422,747. The death toll increased by 76, reaching 7,312.

Japan's daily new cases have stayed below 2,000 for 12 consecutive days since the 7th of this month.

In the past week, Japan reported 9,282 new cases, averaging about 1,326 cases per day. The increase rate has shrunk by 26.6% compared to the previous week.

Although the speed of infection spread has decreased, the spread of variant viruses keeps health authorities on high alert.

According to Kyodo News, on the 18th, Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced that a new variant virus, different from those spreading in the UK and other countries, has been identified in Japan.

The country of origin for this variant has not been confirmed.

The new variant virus is believed to potentially weaken immune effectiveness but does not appear to have increased infectivity.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that the virus carries a mutation called 'E484K' and seems to possess the characteristic of 'immune evasion.'

It added concerns that some immunity gained from infection or vaccination might not work sufficiently.

While there are suggestions that the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine might be reduced, the extent is unclear. Regarding the Pfizer vaccine, which began administration in Japan on the 17th, Pfizer and others have published papers stating that 'the impact of the variant is minimal,' the newspaper reported.

Cases infected with this new variant virus have been confirmed twice at airport quarantine and 91 times in the Kanto region around Tokyo as of the 2nd of this month.