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Less than a year has passed since the first officially confirmed case of coronavirus in Europe and the alarm in the Old Continent has returned forever.
At a time when governments are working feverishly to roll out massive vaccines a week from today, the news from the UK is not good. The former 28th member of the European Union “hurts” the planet – in a year that everyone wants to leave behind – after discovery of a new strain of coronavirus.
Now, all eyes are on the scientific community, which once again is asked to act immediately and “figure out” what happens with the virus mutation and yes, although the guarantees are absolutely reassuring– there is a risk of vaccines.
The first data, not yet scientifically proven, show that the new strain of coronavirus appears to be up to 70% more contagious, while it is still unknown whether this variant increases the mortality rate. Regardless, the concern in European countries is obvious, with country after country announcing bans on flights to and from the UK or stricter restrictions for UK travelers.
In fact, Emergency meeting of the European Crisis Mechanism (IPCR) It is expected on Monday morning, as announced by the representative of the German presidency of the EU, Sebastian Fischer.
The concern is compounded by the fact that beyond the UK, the same mutation has also been found in the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, and Italy.
Scientific data
The mutation was first identified on December 14 in south-eastern England and has since been renamed VUI-202012/01. As scientists point out, such mutations are by no means rare. In fact, this variant is one of tens of thousands.
The coronavirus is constantly mutating, and by July 2020, there were already more than 12,000 different strains. What makes this particular mutation important is the speed at which it appears to spread. “It’s the growth rate that we’re concerned about,” said Nick Loman, professor of bioinformatics and microbial genomics at the University of Birmingham.
The appearance of the new strain does sound the alarm, although it should be noted that there have been several previous Covid-19 mutations. Last month, the Danish government killed millions of minks after it became known that hundreds of Covid-19 cases were associated with variants of Sars-CoV-2 from mink farms. And in October, analysts pointed to a mutation of the coronavirus that originated in Spanish farm workers and spread rapidly across Europe.
In no case were these mutations found to accelerate disease transmission. However, it is now clear that this does not apply to the VUI-202012/01 mutation.
What scientists are now being asked to address is concerns about the impact it will have, especially whether it will lead to an increase in cases of severe Covid disease and whether it may “threaten” the protection offered by vaccines.
Are vaccines at risk?
“If the new executive had a big impact on the severity of the disease, we would have seen it now,” he told the British newspaper. guardian Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General of the European Laboratory for Molecular Biology.
“Cases of coronavirus needing hospitalization would have skyrocketed or dropped dramatically.” Neither has happened, so we can conclude that the impact is likely to be mild. “
He, like many other scientists, says that vaccines have been tested on many circulating mutations in the virus and there is no cause for panic. “So there are many reasons to believe that vaccines will continue to work against this new strain, although obviously this needs to be looked at in detail.”
At the same wavelength, or Elijah Mosialos notes that so far there is no cause for concern about the use of vaccines. “Even if the virus mutates to a more resistant form, vaccines can be modified to become effective again, as is the case every year with the influenza vaccine,” he said.
According to British experts, at this stage there is no possibility that any of the mutations under consideration will affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.
However, there is a simple question that must be answered, according to Mr. Mosialos: Has the behavior of the virus changed? As he points out, according to experts, it’s too early and we don’t know yet. It is something that must be monitored in many ways to understand the appearance and spread, as well as the influence on the behavior of the virus. “It does not necessarily mean that the virus will become more contagious or more contagious or more dangerous.” Viruses are changing, “he said.
The EKPA Assistant Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology seems reassuring, recommending composure, Gikas Majorkinis. “Scientists must first do proper contagious analyzes of these controversial phenomena before making strong claims,” he said. “Even if they have some effect on transmission, it will be so small that it will have no practical meaning.”
The European Union is on alert
EU ambassadors are due to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss travel restrictions for the UK, as many countries have started closing their doors to travelers from Britain.
When the World Health Organization asked its European members to “intensify controls”, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands announced the suspension of air connections, and in some cases rail and ferries, from Great Britain.
The bans, for the most part, are expected to go into effect for about 48 hours as a precautionary measure, until the threat of the new executive is assessed at the European level.
In particular, the Germany announced a ban on flights from Britain, with the exception of commercial flights, tonight at midnight, without specifying the length of the measure.
THE Netherlands announced a ban at least until the end of the year and called for “greater clarity” from London on the mutation issue, stressing that the “additional risk of introducing the new virus strain should be minimized as much as possible.”
the Belgium issued a 24-hour no-fly zone starting at midnight on Sunday and cut rail links with Britain, including Eurostar.
THE Italy bans flights from the UK until January 6 and bans anyone in the UK from entering Italy in the last 14 days.
THE France It also suspends flights and train services from Great Britain for 48 hours “including the transport of goods by road, air, rail and sea.”
THE Austria announced that flights from the UK would be suspended. The Health Ministry stated that “this mutation of the virus has not yet been detected in Austria” and that there is close contact with the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
He too Ireland suspends all flights from Britain as of midnight Sunday, with the decision valid for 48 hours, before the matter is reconsidered in the country’s cabinet. A government statement said “there will be” close coordination with the Northern Irish authorities. “
In Cyprus decided to quarantine travelers from Great Britain for 10 to 14 days, from 6 am on Monday, “until more information is available from the scientific community.”
For his part, Hellas Announced 3 to 7 day quarantine extension for travelers from the UK.
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