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As recently stated by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the variant “VUI-202012/01” of the new Coronavirus registered in the United Kingdom, would make the virus more transmissible by 70%. We are talking about the N501Y mutation of the Spike (S) glycoprotein, put more simply: the mutation affects the efficiency of the antigen in binding to the ACE2 receptors of our cells.
However, this mutation hasn’t come out of nowhere these days. As we reported in a previous article, the Deputy Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Deputy Director of its European Institute of Bioinformatics in Cambridge, Ewan Birney said:
“If the new variant had had a major impact on the severity of the disease, we would have already seen it […] So there are many reasons to think that vaccines will continue to work against this new strain, even if it obviously has to be thoroughly tested.
Another significant mutation was recorded in South Africa, as reported Reutersand is classified as “501.V2”. There are several studies on the various mutations that affect the viral antigen. The dominant one that has concerned us in recent months is the «D614G». But even then, nothing that could jeopardize vaccine research.
Both recent variants share a greater potential ability to bind to ACE2 receptors. This evidence emerged from mutational screening studies performed in vitro. What happens at the epidemiological level, when we look at how the virus actually behaves in a population, can vary greatly. It is the reason why the same vaccines, in addition to being tested with different viral variants, must pass several stages of clinical trials before being approved.
“I would go there with leaden feet until there are clearer experimental indications, also because N501Y is not a” new “variant, and it circulated with low frequency for several months before showing this growth,” says the genomics expert. comparative Marco Gerdol in the Facebook group of medical debunking The flu is unknown.
In any case, there are still many aspects to be clarified and it is legitimate to worry. According to the immunologist Andrea Cossarizza, interviewed by Republic, “The risk exists, albeit minimal, and care must remain high even after vaccination.”
However, here no one lets their guard down. And the likelihood of these mutations emerging, like others we predict, because the mutability of coronaviruses is well known, is currently quite remote and could undermine current and future mass vaccines. We’ll see.
Cover photo: Fernandozhiminaicella | Coronavirus and Covid-19.
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