At the end of 2021, researchers discovered a new COVID-19 variant in France. According to a study that is yet to be peer-reviewed, the strain was found in a vaccinated French traveller who had returned from Cameroon in Africa in November. The researchers noted that he developed mild respiratory symptoms the day before he was diagnosed. The variant was named B.1.640.2 or IHU after Institut Hospitalier Universitaire in Marseilles, one of the places where it was identified.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/news-and-features/what-we-know-about-the-ihu-covid-19-variant