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A new genetic variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has emerged in the UK, but is unlikely to threaten the effectiveness of Vaccines for COVID-19say scientists.
New “variants” of the coronavirus emerges as the virus makes copies of itself and acquires genetic mutations; Mutations in a particular variant may or may not change how the virus infects cells or how easily it spreads, so scientists track changes to determine which ones could pose a potential risk.
Now researchers in the UK have identified a new variant that has caused infections in nearly 60 local authority areas, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Dec. 14 while addressing the House of Commons: The Guardian reported. That equates to more than 1,100 total infections caused by the new variant, predominantly in southern and eastern England, according to a statement from Public Health England (PHE), an agency of the Department of Health and Welfare.
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“Large number of cases of the variant virus they have been observed in some areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19, “the statement noted.” It is not yet known whether the variant is responsible for this increased number of cases. “
In other words, we do not yet know whether the new variant spreads more easily than other variants of the virus. While the increasing number of infections could be related to a genetic mutation that allows the variant to spread easily, it may also have become widespread by chance when infected individuals interacted with others and triggered chains of transmission. In the coming weeks, both PHE and the World Health Organization (WHO) will study the new variant and track its spread to determine if it is more transmissible, Hancock said.
Again, the emergence of this new variant “is not unexpected,” said Dr Susan Hopkins, medical adviser for the UK Test and Trace program, in the statement. In fact, new variants of the virus have emerged throughout the pandemic, with some infecting more people than others. Live Science previously reported.
“It is important that we detect any changes quickly to understand the potential risk that any variant can pose,” Hopkins said. There is currently no indication that the variant identified in the UK causes a more serious illness than others in circulation, he said. Also, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines work differently against the variant, according to the statement.
Overall, a single gene mutation is unlikely to make COVID-19 vaccines less effective, Live Science previously reported. This is in part because vaccines drive the immune system to develop different types of antibodies, which then target different coronavirus sites, Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant director of the Laboratory of Clinical Virology at the University of Washington Medical Center, told Live Science in an email to Live Science.
the leading vaccines, including the now authorized Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, specifically target the spike protein, a spikey structure of the virus that attaches to cells to initiate infection, but antibodies can adhere to many different sites along that spike. If the beak develops a mutation in only one location, the remaining array of antibodies can still be grabbed elsewhere. That means that since vaccines generate a variety of antibodies, subtle mutations in the virus shouldn’t make them less effective.
That is likely the case with the new variant of the coronavirus, which detected a mutation in its spike protein, according to the PHE statement. To confirm that there are still enough antibodies that recognize the mutant virus, scientists can perform experiments in which they incubate the viral particles, the antibodies generated by the vaccine and the cells together in the laboratory, Greninger said.
“If the spike protein changes in such a way that it can at least partially evade the antibody that is trying to block it … then that would affect the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at the Medical Center. from Vanderbilt University. in Nashville, Tennessee. Again, a subtle change in the spike protein probably wouldn’t pose a problem, but scientists are checking anyway, he said.
In addition to looking at antibody responses, scientists can study whether new mutations change how the virus works, including whether it infects cells more efficiently compared to other variants. For example, in laboratory studies, some spike protein mutations allow the virus to bind more closely to the ACE2 receptor, its preferred gateway to human cells, according to a report published Aug. 11 in the journal. Cell.
However, the way the virus attaches itself to cells in a dish doesn’t always translate to how infectious it is in nature, Schaffner said. Laboratory studies must be combined with data from real-world scenarios to determine how easily a particular variant spreads, he said. To compare two variants, scientists would need similar field data related to both; for example, one could compare the rate of spread between long-term care facilities, schools, or similar cities with comparable public health restrictions.
When it comes to the new variant in the UK, “we don’t know much about it yet,” Schaffner said. Future research by the PHE, WHO, and other scientific groups should provide information on whether the mutation has altered the biology of the virus in any consistent way. Based on the more than 1,000 reported infections caused by the new variant, it does not appear to cause more serious illness than other versions of the virus. However, it is not yet clear whether the variant is more transmissible.
Originally posted on Live Science.
