New strain of coronavirus discovered at Czech lab, biologist says

The Elisabeth Pharmacon lab has discovered a new strain of the coronavirus, Czech biologist Omar Sery, who is the company's founder, said on Twitter.

"Thanks to the sequencing of samples from patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, our laboratory discovered a hitherto undescribed mutation of the spike protein," Sery said.

The epidemiologist explained that the new mutation does not appear to be more contagious, and COVID-19 vaccines should be effective against it.

"Fortunately, the mutation is in a position that should not affect the binding of antibodies or cellular receptors," Sery said on Twitter.

The Czech Republic has confirmed over 1.5 million coronavirus cases. More than 173,000 are current active cases. The country's COVID-19 death toll stands at 24,800.