​This COVID variant can infect lower lungs; cause severe disease

​So far, we have learned that the new COVID variants can spread faster and can escape the immune system easily. However, a recent study has shed light on something more serious. As per a study published in the journal Cell, one of the new COVID variants which is dominant in several countries right now, can infect human cells that line the lower lung and engage in virus-host cell membrane fusion more efficiently, two features linked to severe disease symptoms.​