12th November 2020: Scientists at the World Health Organization and around the globe have been studying another mutated variant of the novel coronavirus which is infecting humans after spreading through mink farms in the north of Denmark. According to reports from The BMJ, found in 12 patients in Denmark, a new strain of mutated SARS-CoV-2 appeared in laboratory tests, which exhibited “decreased susceptibility” to antibodies compared to previously infected people, as reported in a preliminary report by the country’s State Serum Institute. It also warned that this variant, if it spread, will not be able to be controlled easily by the COVID-19 vaccines currently under development. According to the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, the only safe option is to cull all 17 million minks kept by the Danish fur industry as Denmark supplies around a third of the global mink fur demand. “We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world,” Frederiksen discussed in a press conference on 6 November. “The mutated virus in minks could pose a risk that future vaccines won’t work as they should. It … Continue reading COVID-19: Denmark to kill minks over mutation