New Covid variants may be resistant to vaccines - expert

DCU Professor of Health Systems Anthony Staines says this new mutation in Vietnam could happen in Ireland. Picture: Denis Minihane.

A public health expert is concerned there are more Covid-19 variants out there that may be resistant to vaccines.

Vietnam has discovered a new variant which appears to be a mix of the Indian and UK strains.

It comes as 464 new cases of Covid have been detected here, with the number of people in ICU down to 35.

DCU Professor of Health Systems Anthony Staines says this new mutation in Vietnam could happen in Ireland.

Professor Staines says: "This is why so many people are saying that we need to have a real global effort to push cases down everywhere, as far as possible.

"Vietnam has had an incredibly successful response to this pandemic, one of the most successful in the world, but they are now having cases, they have a new variant which has not been identified before.

He added: "That could happen anywhere. It could happen in Ireland tomorrow."