Stock markets plunged on Friday after scientists in Wuhan, China, published a report warning of a new version of Covid-19.
While many stocks dipped, Moderna and Pfizer’s shares saw a boost.
Researchers at The Wuhan Institute of Virology published a report said they had detected a new strain of the virus in bats.
According to reports, the strain is more closely related to MERS – a severe respiratory illness that can spread from camels to people through physical contact.
MERS has a fatality rate of 35%, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
So far, no person has been reported to have come into contact with the new strain.
The new strain, referred to as HKU5-CoV-2, uses the same human receptor as SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.
The bat strain can infect cells by binding to proteins in the human body as well as other mammals, the study led by Dr. Shi Zhengli said.
The study adds that the ability of the strain to spread to humans “remains to be investigated. »
Wuhan was the source of the Covid-19 pandemic that sent the world into lockdowns back in 2020.
In January, the CIA said the coronavirus is « more likely » to have leaked from a Chinese lab than to have come from animals.
In the UK, 227,000 deaths had Covid listed as a reason on death certificates.
There is an ongoing Covid inquiry investigating the UK’s response to the virus and examining whether any lessons that can be learned from the country’s response to the crisis.
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