Three things each country must do to get ahead of the coronavirus mutation

We count 2020 as a lucky year. This may sound strange given that the world has tackled a pandemic that has killed nearly 1.8 million people and crippled the economies of many countries. “Luck” is associated with more than 90% efficacy of two vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech SE Shot and Modana Candidate) that received urgent approval after a thorough clinical analysis. Breakthroughs in science and technology can help achieve this and have the potential to accelerate the end of the pandemic. And more vaccines are in progress. Unfortunately, there is a risk that this early success will lead to complacency.

SARS-CoV-2-, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease, is mutated as if the virus were constantly mutating. This happens randomly. Changes can give one variant a slight advantage over the other, but often make no difference from an immunological point of view. However, over time, mutations that are less sensitive to vaccine protection can occur. This requires globally coordinated surveillance activities to ensure that virus changes are known. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to happen.

The UK is far ahead in this surveillance effort, led by the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium, a group of scientists who have analyzed the entire genome of more than 150,000 SARS-CoV-2 viruses isolated from infected individuals. I will. This enormous project helped identify 1,777 changes in viral proteins, including the so-called B.1.1.7 variant. The mutant’s ability to transmit more effectively has forced experts to worry about curfew and travel restrictions in the UK.

This variant contains more mutations than previously seen in a single virus, eight of which are peplomer proteins (protruding rod-like structures that decorate the outside of the virus), including Pfizer and Moderna. It has been the target of many vaccines. There is still no solid evidence that this mutant is more resistant to existing vaccines, but it raises concerns.

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We were worried that “escape” mutations could occur after widespread vaccination, but these changes appear to occur without widespread vaccination. The problem is that we know what kind of change is happening in the UK, but we don’t know how many other variants are in circulation in the European Union, the United States and Asia because the data is not properly tracked. You need to change this to effectively manage the virus.

What do i need to do? Three things. First, governments around the world need to work together to strengthen virus surveillance and align it with UK surveillance. This will allow us to better assess changes in response to vaccination. It’s easy to see if the B.1.1.7 variant is as sensitive to the vaccine as the most common strains, but it is possible. But not surprisingly, we need new variants found around the world to assess the responsiveness to vaccine-induced immunity. Guidance for this already exists. This is done against the flu virus and we develop new vaccines every year. The same is true here, if desired. In addition, a set of rules must be developed and globally agreed on what constitutes a variant of concern. For example, do you develop vaccine candidates for each new variant in which a mutation is found (which now means about 4,000 candidates), or those that have been shown to be less sensitive to the vaccine by laboratory tests? Is it just?

The next step is to ensure that the vaccine company works closely with the government to develop a version of the vaccine that incorporates the new variant of concern. Doing this is costly and labor intensive, but relatively low for anyone using new technologies such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA shots, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson’s “viral vector” vaccine. These technologies will help you develop new candidates quickly within two months. Companies need to conduct preclinical and non-human primate trials to compare these new vaccine candidates with those already approved. In this way, you’re ready to deploy on a trial basis as needed.

The final piece of the puzzle is the regulatory framework for bringing new vaccines to market. Again, there is an existing playbook of influenza vaccines. Companies, regulators, and governments need to develop a set of simple rules so that they do not have to wait for large late-stage trials to take place before deploying new vaccine formulations. If preclinical studies have already been conducted, the modified vaccine should be able to reach the masses within a few months.

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I’m optimistic that I can do all this. We have already done extensive genome analysis in the UK. The activated US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be an important addition. With the participation of several more regions, such as China and the EU, the global consortium will be able to systematically track the virus. And our pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is demonstrating the ability and willingness to act quickly.

After the news of such a good first vaccine, it’s a shame to lose the ground in a virus fight, especially if it can be avoided. We need to act on these things as soon as possible.

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