Delta subvariant won't change COVID picture, Oxford vaccine chief says

FILE PHOTO: A social distancing sign is seen amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Leicester, Britain, May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

A subvariant of Delta that is growing in England is being monitored but is not likely to change the COVID-19 picture, Oxford Vaccine Group chief Andrew Pollard said on Wednesday.

The subvariant, designated as AY.4.2 in Britain, is growing and accounted for about 6% of all sequences generated, the UK Health Security Agency said last week, but it has not been labelled as "under investigation" or a "variant of concern".

"Discovery of new variants is of course important to monitor, but it doesn't indicate that that new variant is going to be the next one to replace Delta," Pollard told BBC radio.

FILE PHOTO: Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group Andrew Pollard attends a virtual news conference on the ongoing situation with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Downing Street, London, Britain November 23, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Pool

"Indeed even if it does, Delta is incredibly good at transmitting in a vaccinated population and a new one may be a bit better but it's unlikely to change the picture dramatically from where we are today."

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Kate Holton)