VUI – 202012/01, standing for “the first variant under investigation in December 2020.”Later government documents from December designated it as a “variant of concern,” and referred to it as VOC 202012/01.B.1.1.7 was first spotted in the U.K.
in September 2020. It began to draw attention from the scientific community and governmental authorities in early December, when the U.K.
health secretary, Matt Hancock, suggested that it was spreading fast and likely contributing to the rising number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the South of England.Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.Now, at the time of this article’s publication, the new variant has.