STOCKHOLM, December 23. /TASS/. About 10% of people who tested positive for novel coronavirus in Denmark carry a mutated strain of the virus which can be less susceptible to a vaccine, the Ritzaus Bureau news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a research by the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Health

According to the agency, the mutated N439K strain of the virus was first detected in Romania in May, and has since spread to several European countries, including Ireland, Czech Republic and Switzerland. According to Chinese researchers, the virus is more resistant to antibodies than the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2.

"We are worried by how efficient a vaccine will be in the case of N439K. Therefore, it would be advisable to monitor the prevalence of this strain and whether it affects the most vulnerable groups," researcher Tyra Grove Krause said.

The mutated strain of the virus was discovered in 1,624 samples taken this fall in regions adjacent to the capital Kopenhagen and in the south of the Jutland peninsula. No deaths from it have been registered so far. N439K is not related to the virus that prompted the recent mass cull of minks in the country, and has no links to the SARS-CoV-2 strain recently found in the United Kingdom.