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Vismita Gupta-Smith:
When you hear about variants -

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variants of concern,
variants of interest -

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mutations - double or triple mutations -

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what does that mean?

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And what action does the public 
need to take to protect themselves?

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Hello, and welcome to Science in 5.

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I'm Vismita Gupta-Smith.

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Giving us an update on variants today
is Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.

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Maria, give us an update on the variants
that are circulating right now.

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Maria Van Kerkhove:
Thanks for having me back.

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There are several virus variants
that WHO is tracking around the world.

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The SARS-CoV-2 virus,
the virus that causes COVID-19,

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is evolving.

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This is a natural evolution,

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and the virus is expected to change
the more the virus circulates around.

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Currently, there are
four variants of concern

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that WHO is tracking around the world:

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the B.1.1.7, which was
first identified in the United Kingdom;

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the B.1.351, which was
first identified in South Africa;

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the P.1 variant, which was
first identified in Japan

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from travelers from Brazil;

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and now we've recently
classified the B.1.617,

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which was first identified in India.

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Now, it's really important that you look
at the latest information from WHO

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because this is a fast-changing situation.

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The latest information we have
on all of our variants of interest

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and variants of concern
that we are tracking

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are released on our website
in our weekly epidemiological SitRep.

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VGS: Maria, how does WHO classify
a variant as a variant of interest

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or a variant of concern?

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MVK: Variants of interest have properties,

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have mutations that have been identified
that need further study.

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Variants of concern
have demonstrated changes.

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For example, you may have
increased transmissibility;

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there may be a change
in disease presentation or severity;

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or there may be a change
in our ability to control the virus

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with public health and social measures;

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or the use of diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines.

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So the recent variant of concern,
the B.1.617, for example,

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has demonstrated 
increased transmissibility,

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and this is why this has been classified
as a variant of concern.

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So you'll notice when I said
a variant of concern,

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I named it by a number,
for example, B.1.617,

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and I didn't call it
a country name variant.

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It's really important
that we don't do that.

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We don't say country X variant,

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because that really adds a stigma
associated with these variants.

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And it's important that surveillance
is occurring around the world,

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and we detect these variants very quickly;

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the information is shared
so that it can be analyzed

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so that we understand
the potential implications

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once they are identified.

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VGS: What does this mean for the public?

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MVK: It means that we need
to do everything that we can

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to prevent infections

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and reduce the spread
of the SARS-CoV-2 virus,

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whether it's a virus variant,

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a variant of interest

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or a variant of concern or not.

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The SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect us,
and it can spread between people.

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So it means to take
all of the measures that you can

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to reduce your exposure

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in the possibility
of you getting infected.

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It means physical distancing,

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avoiding crowded spaces,

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spending more time outdoors than indoors.

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If you are indoors, make sure
that there's good ventilation.

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It's about having clean hands 
and wearing a mask,

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properly over your nose and your mouth,

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practicing respiratory etiquette,

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being well-informed.

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And no matter what you do,

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know what your risk is
and take steps to lower your risk.

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And lastly, when it's your turn,

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get vaccinated.

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There are many studies underway

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studying the properties
of each of these variants of concern

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in terms of transmissibility,

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severity, and impact on diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines.

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So far from the information that we have
from the studies that are underway

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and the results that are available,

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the public health and social measures,

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the diagnostics,
therapeutics, and vaccines

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do work against these virus variants.

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We are learning every day

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and as soon as we have more information,

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we will share this with you.

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VGS: Thank you, Maria.

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That was Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove
giving us an update on virus variants.

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Until next time then.

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Stay safe, stay healthy,
and stick with science.

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Subtitles by Maurício Kakuei Tanaka