Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network-Taiwan confirms first case of the "Colombian variant"; is it deadlier than the Delta variant?

According to [Focus Taiwan], a Taiwanese woman who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from the United States in early August has been infected by the coronavirus variant discovered in Colombia, the first case of the new variant in Taiwan.

What is the Colombian variant?

It was the first time the Colombian variant was detected in Taiwan, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said, after first being discovered in Colombia in January 2021. The World Health Organization did not put it on its list of COVID-19 variants until May.

Lo said there have been no reports indicating the Colombian variant is deadlier, more pathogenic, or more infectious than other variants, but it was found to be endowed with features of both the Alpha and Beta variants. The Colombian variant has characteristics of the South African mutant E484K gene mutation and the N501Y British mutant gene, so there are speculations that it has high transmission and resistance against the vaccine.

The Colombian variant has invaded 28 countries. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay gallery)

According to Lo, the Colombian variant has been reported in at least 28 countries around the world, with about 2 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. caused by the emerging variant.

Currently, the variant has yet to receive a Greek-letter designation as more prominent variants have, Lo added, so it is currently named using its gene sequence B.1.621. Cases of this variant have been reported in countries such as the United States (2% of newly confirmed cases are infected with the Colombian variant), Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, etc.

Colombian variant VS. Delta variant

According to [Focus Taiwan], the variant has received attention worldwide since it was found to be behind a recent cluster infection at a seniors' home in Belgium, where it claimed seven lives despite all the deceased being fully vaccinated.

The Colombian variant seems to be deadlier than the Delta variant. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay gallery)

Does this mean that the Colombian variant is more alarming?

According to [Public Health England (PHE)], the Colombian has many characteristics and it is still not confirmed whether or not current vaccines will be effective against it. Until more studies are done, it is still uncertain whether the Colombian variant is more deadly than the Delta variant.