Covid-19 is a complex retrovirus, a class of single-strand viruses that are known tfor their flexibility, evolving quickly over generations. There are several new variants recently identified but remember: From the start there were differences in the major strains. The one first identified in Wuhan, China, and then an Iranian and more or less European strain. The concern over the newest member of the Covid-19 family that is raising concern is one found in the UK. Preliminary data (and it is .. preliminary) suggests its Ro number, a measure of transmissibility, is higher and therefore likely to infect more persons than the strains we know. There is no report that it is more mortal, with high death rates, only that it is more transmissible. At present the assumption is that the changes in the spike protein in this version are not sufficient to nullify or diminish the effectiveness of the major vaccines now on or coming to market. But today I read of a new strain that has appeared in Africa about which we know even less.

A longish response and one that is not definitive. But our stages of knowing is less than absolute. Remember...that advances in genomic sequencing have meant that for the first time we can quickly track the profiles of a virus as it appears in patients. And so for the first time we an name and track such changes that presumably, in the past, have affected certain infectious viral diseases.

Please see the RG link below.

Article The British variant of the new coronavirus-19 (Sars-Cov-2) s...

Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are effective against UK variant (B.1.1.7) of SARS-CoV-2

Article Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 pseudovirus by ...

Article Efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine against SARS-C...

The B.1.1.7 strain is characterized by a deletion in the Spike protein (HV60/70 del), a mutation at N501Y on the receptor-binding domain and at the furin cleavage site P681H, together which enhances its transmissibility by 70 percent and capability of causing severe COVID by 30-40 percent.

https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/new-covid-19-strains-act-fast-avoid-catastrophe-2072469

The variants seem to spread more easily and quickly which may lead to more cases of COVID-19. An increase in the number of cases will put more strain on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations, and potentially more deaths.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html

The new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster, it might also make it harder for our immune system to recognize the virus due to its slightly different shape. This means our immune system may not be able to recognize the virus as something it has to produce antibodies against.

https://theconversation.com/whats-the-new-coronavirus-variant-in-india-and-how-should-it-change-their-covid-response-157957