Covid: Relaxing restrictions “increases the risk of vaccine-resistant strains”

New viral mutations that are resistant to vaccines Relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, Researchers suggest.

Experts at the University of East Anglia and the Earl Ham Institute warn that the mitigation of measures is too early and describe the “arms race” against Covid-19.

Researchers argue that the increase in cases may provide an opportunity for the virus to evolve into more contagious mutants.

It comes as the official numbers on Tuesday showed The number of newly reported Covid-19s in the UK has declined for the seventh straight day.

However, the impact of the July 19 mitigation is unknown for weeks.

Professor Kevin Tyler, Principal Writer and Editor-in-Chief of the University of East Anglia at Norwich Medical School, said: Of a pandemic.

“Vaccines weaken the relationship between infection and mortality, but should not be used as an argument to justify significant policy changes in countries experiencing an exponential increase in the number of infections.

“This is because most of the world’s population has not yet been vaccinated, and even in countries with efficient vaccination programs, a significant proportion of society, especially children, remains unprotected. ..

“Relaxing restrictions promotes infection and expands the viral population, which increases the potential for adaptive evolution and increases the risk of developing vaccine-resistant strains through a process known as antigenic drift.

“Simply put, limiting the spread of Covid-19 as much as possible limits the rate of new variants and thus limits future deaths.

“Continuous SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as alpha and delta variants, have replaced each other since their outbreak.”

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He added: “To slow the emergence of new variants, we need to take swift and decisive action, reduce the number of infected people, including vaccinated children, and combine them with other public health policies.

“In most cases, children are not vaccinated against Covid-19 because their risk of becoming seriously ill is very low.

“But new strains can evolve as children become more contagious, and children may need to be vaccinated to control the emergence of new variants.”

He added that the policy of relaxing restrictions while children are not vaccinated risks misselecting more problematic and toxic mutants in vulnerable groups that are susceptible to infection of children. I did.

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Professor Cock Van Oosterhout, co-lead author and evolutionary biologist at UEA’s Faculty of Environmental Sciences, said:

“On the human side, the arms race is fighting vaccines, new technologies such as the NHS Covid-19 app, and our behavior change, but the virus counterattacks by adapting and evolving.

“If we can’t significantly reduce the virus population, we’re unlikely to move forward in this arms race.

“But given that the infection rate was about the same as it was in the first wave, the virus is almost’equal’. And, like many other co-evolutionary arms races, there is no winner.

“But what you can’t do is suddenly drop a guard during an arms race.

“It gives your opponent-a virus-a real advantage.

“Therefore, we need to continue what we have been doing for the last 18 months, especially in countries where the number of infected people is increasing.”

He added that leaving public health measures to individual responsibility is a “laissez-faire approach.”

“Continuous and mandatory public health policies, including keeping social distances and forcing face masks in crowded indoor spaces such as stores and public transport while the virus is exponentially transmitted. Is required. “

Professor Neil Hall, co-author and director of the Earlham Institute (EI), said:

“The higher the number of cases of Covid-19, the more likely it is that the virus will evolve, become more virulent, more contagious, and avoid the vaccine.”

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