New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been discovered recently, notably the VOC202020/01, known as the “English variant” and the 501Y.V2, known as the “South African variant”. Scientists are trying to understand why these variants seem to spread so quickly, and if the new vaccines will still give protection against them. The genomes of the 2 variants are known: the English variant, for instance, has been sequenced in 31 countries. Epidemiological studies indicate that this variant may be one and a half times as contagious as previous forms of the virus.