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The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
New York variant harbors a worrying third mutation
The rising coronavirus variant in New York City contains the same E484K mutation seen in variants in Brazil and South Africa that is believed to make COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapies less effective, as well as a mutation called S477N. which helps more cells to join when it breaks into them.
A report by researchers from the New York State Department of Health published Monday on medRxiv ahead of peer review adds new information.
All versions of the variant circulating in New York harbor a mutation called D235G that could reduce the effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies.
The variant “has increased the population of circulating viruses in New York State nearly 26 times in just over a month,” the researchers said.
“The combination of E484K or S477N with a D253G mutation that could confer an immune escape, and the increased number of COVID-19 cases associated with these variants, warrants further follow-up,” they said.
Vaccinating the elderly preserves the greatest number of years of life
Prioritizing the elderly for COVID-19 vaccines saves not only the most lives, but also the most years of life, a new study suggests.
Taking into account age and health risks, the authors calculated the number of lives potentially saved by COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, Germany and South Korea and multiplied that number by the life expectancy of those vaccinated.
Patients’ risk of death from COVID-19 increases faster with age, at a rate of about 11% per year, than their remaining life expectancy decreases, said study leader Joshua Goldstein of the University of California at Berkeley.
Without vaccines, the number of people who would die from COVID-19 is so much higher in older age groups than in younger age groups that protecting older age groups actually saves more years of life, in total.
“Before this study, it was suspected that there would be an intermediate age, neither too old nor too young, that would maximize the benefit of a vaccine, in terms of years of life saved per person,” Goldstein said in a statement.
In contrast, vaccinating a 90-year-old in the United States would save twice as many years as vaccinating a 75-year-old and six times more than vaccinating a 50-year-old, his team reported Thursday in Proceedings. from the US National Academy of Sciences. – Reuters
