[ad_1]
In this installment of our Hope Behind the Headlines series, we review global progress in vaccination rates and the resulting drop in new cases in certain countries. We also review how existing vaccines against new variants of the coronavirus fare.
As we approach the one year mark since the World Health Organization (WHO) first declared COVID-19 a pandemic, it is tempting to lose hope and lose sight of the progress we have made in addressing this. crisis.
Yet scientists, governments, and health systems around the world have been working at full speed to inoculate people en masse. The results of this mass vaccination, along with sustained physical distancing and confinement measures, are beginning to show.
In this feature, we provide an overview of this progress in the hope that it will restore a much-needed ray of optimism. We also examine how vaccines fare against new emerging variants of the virus.
Countries around the world are now making progress in vaccinating their populations. At the time of this writing, countries around the world have administered more than 204 million doses of vaccines.
Currently, Israel ranks first in the number of vaccine doses administered. Has administered more than 80 doses for every 100 people.
As of early February 2021, nearly 90% of people aged 60 and over in Israel had received at least their first dose of the vaccine.
The United Arab Emirates is very close, having administered more than 53 doses per 100 people, according to the same source.
The UK has administered more than 24 doses per 100 people. His government recently announced that the country reached its first goal of vaccinating 15 million people.
A reduction in case rates in Israel
The positive effects of this mass vaccination have not gone unnoticed.
In Israel, the Ministry of Health reported that as of early February 2021, confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in people over the age of 60 had decreased by 41%. Additionally, hospitalizations from mid-January to early February had been reduced by 31%.
According to Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, NY:
“What we see here are early and very encouraging signs that the vaccine is working in the population.”
Krammer also said Nature that Israel is “the first country to see a direct effect of vaccines working in such a large group of people.” The strict national blockade imposed by the country also contributed to this success, according to the authors of the Nature Article.
A reduction in case rates in the UK
Also in the UK, a new study found that infections in England have dropped by two-thirds since the start of the shutdown. London, in particular, saw an 80% drop in infection rates, according to research from Imperial College London in the UK.
These results are from the REACT study. Professor Paul Elliott, director of the research program, considered these results “really encouraging”.
The death rate from COVID-19 is declining, but death rates around the world remain high. A study that examined deaths in intensive care units worldwide found that deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals decreased from 60% to 36% between March and October 2020.
Maintaining hope can be particularly challenging in light of the new emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. So far, there are three main variants that may be cause for concern. These are:
- B.1.1.7, which scientists first identified in the UK, is now dominant there and may soon be the most prevalent variant in the US.
- B.1.351, which scientists first identified in South Africa
- P.1., Which the experts located for the first time in the city of Manaus in Brazil
These variants are potentially more contagious, and there is concern that some may have the ability to evade the immune system.
However, it is worth remembering that based on the data we have so far, some COVID-19 vaccines may remain generally effective against the newer variants, even if the neutralizing ability of the antibodies that these vaccines generate may be slightly lower.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may remain effective against variant B.1.1.7
For example, a study we recently covered found that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were still effective against variant B.1.1.7.
The article, which appeared in the magazine Sciences, notes that the vaccine stimulates the immune system enough to produce sufficient amounts of antibodies that can neutralize the new, more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2.
The study used “pseudoviruses”, which had the peak protein characteristic of the B.1.1.7 variant or that of the oldest parent variant that initially appeared in Wuhan, China.
When the new spike protein variant was used, there was a slight reduction in neutralizing antibodies in the younger participants and no reduction in the older ones.
Scientists do not believe that the slight reduction is “biologically significant”. Therefore, they conclude that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would still offer sufficient protection against the new variant.
Another study, this time featured in the journal Cell, came to a similar conclusion. The authors write that although variant B.1.1.7 is “more difficult to neutralize than [the] parental virus ”, does not escape the monoclonal antibodies or the antibody responses that the vaccine generates more widely.
Finally, the authors of the Sciences The study also writes that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can protect against SARS-CoV-2 through an additional pathway in addition to antibodies: increasing levels of cytotoxic T cells.
Therefore, even if the antibodies become insufficient to neutralize a newer variant of SARS-CoV-2, the vaccine could still be effective.
The Moderna vaccine may also remain effective against variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.351
Recent research that has not yet been peer-reviewed found a similar result for the Moderna vaccine.
The producers of the Moderna vaccine issued a statement in late January 2021, suggesting that their vaccine retains protection against not only variant B.1.1.7 but also variant B.1.351, which scientists first identified in South Africa.
The scientists document their findings in a study that appears on the Biorxiv prepress server. In it, Dr. Kai Wu, Ph.D. – from Moderna, Inc. in Cambridge, MA – and their colleagues conclude:
“Taken together, these data demonstrate reduced but still significant neutralization against the complete B.1.351 variant after vaccination with mRNA-1273.”
However, just to be safe, Moderna is also testing a booster shot that targets the B.1.351 variant.
As the Moderna scientists put it in their statement: “As we seek to defeat the [SARS-CoV-2] virus, which has created a global pandemic, we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves. ”
“We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforces our confidence that the Modern COVID-19 vaccine should protect against these newly detected variants.”
– Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Moderna
However, just to be more cautious, the creators of the Moderna vaccine and those of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine agree that designing a tailored booster vaccine would be a smart move in the fight against new variants.
“Out of caution and taking advantage of the flexibility of our mRNA platform,” adds Bancel, “we are advancing an emerging booster candidate variant against the variant first identified in the Republic of South Africa in the clinic to determine if it will be more effective in increasing the titles against this and possible future variants “.
The Pfizer-BioNTech study authors agree with this approach. In its Sciences paper, they write:
“While the sustained neutralization of the current B.1.1.7 variant is reassuring, it is prudent to prepare for a possible change in the COVID-19 vaccine strain. Adapting the vaccine to a new strain of virus would be facilitated by the flexibility of mRNA-based vaccine technology. “
Finally, the makers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have also announced that they will create tailored versions of their vaccine to address new variants.
Why Adapting mRNA Vaccines to New Variants Can Be Pretty Easy
Professor Uğur Şahin, CEO of BioNTech, and the team touch on a key issue in their previously cited article: the flexibility of mRNA vaccines.
Even if the neutralizing capacity of the antibodies that vaccines generate in response to new variants is lower than that of older variants, as some studies suggest, mRNA vaccines still have a significant advantage compared to other types of vaccines.
Scientists can quite easily adapt mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, as opposed to vaccines that use an inactivated form of the virus, for example, to target new variants of the virus.
This is because mRNA vaccines use genetic instructions for our cells to create viral proteins on their own, rather than using an infectious pathogen or parts of an infectious virus itself.
Vaccines in the latter category may require a complete overhaul to deal with new variants because they use the entire virus or a part of the virus.
Adapting this to a new variant would require creating the virus from a new variant rather than an old variant. In contrast, mRNA vaccines are much more flexible.
Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hoge explained TIME magazine that adapting the vaccine to new variants would be like “copy and paste: we could paste the mutations of the South African strain into our vaccine very quickly.”
In his interview, which he gave in late January 2021, Dr. Hoge added that the new booster vaccines could be ready to be tested “in a matter of 6 to 9 weeks.”
For live updates on the latest developments related to the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.
