A guide to what you need to know

The virus is constantly mutating, and it is not surprising to experts that the coronavirus that emerged in China at the end of 2019 experienced some significant mutations as the virus replicated and spread. ..

However, new strains of the virus that have emerged in South Africa have raised concerns. Those that emerged in South Africa, such as the variants found in the United Kingdom in recent months, have proven to be much more contagious.

So far, scientists can spread it more easily, but they don’t consider either new variant to be more deadly. However, being more contagious means that more people can be infected, which can result in more serious infections and more deaths.

Questions have been raised last year as to whether the coronavirus vaccine was developed at an alarming rate. The leading Western candidate was developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford University, AstraZeneca and is effective against significant mutations in such viruses. As identified in South Africa.

Scientists believe that British variants are unlikely to affect the effectiveness of vaccines currently deployed in the west, but there is more uncertainty about South African strains.

Experts are investigating new stocks and those in the UK, encouraging people not to panic, but are keen to point out that there is much we do not yet know about new stocks. Here’s what we know so far:

South Africa has named this variant “501 Y.V2”. N501Y mutation They discovered a spike protein that the virus uses to invade cells in the body. The mutation was also found, among other things, in a new strain identified by the United Kingdom in December (However, it is estimated that it has been in circulation since September.)both Increases the transmission of the virus and spreads it more efficiently..

UK and South African officials warned the World Health Organization (WHO) about the new mutation in December, both countries are famous for viral sequencing or “surveillance,” but WHO said both mutants were found. I did. The N501Y mutation was shared in the United Kingdom (named “VOC-202012 / 01”, VOC stands for “Variantof Concern”) and South Africa, but they are different.

South African mutants carry two other mutations in peplomers, especially E484K and K417N, which are not present in the UK strain. Experts said they could affect the effect of the vaccine on Covid-19.

Some experts and health officials are worried about the South African variant now widely known as “501.V2”. So far, it has been found in only a handful of cases, WHO said on Tuesday, but the number of countries is increasing. Includes UK, France, Switzerland, Japan, Austria and Zambia.

Several countries have banned flights from South Africa (And UK) As a result of a new variant of the virus to stop the spread of the virus.

Earlier this week British Health Minister Matt Hancock said the variants found in South Africa were of particular concern... “I’m very worried about the South African variant, so I took action to limit all flights from South Africa,” he told the BBC’s “Today” program on Monday.

“This is a very serious problem … and it’s even more problematic. New variant of the UK“He said, but there was no further explanation.

On Tuesday, former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that Americans were vaccinated against Covid, especially as a new South African variant appears to be blocking antibody drugs and has spread elsewhere. He warned that it was more important than ever.

“South African variants are currently very concerned because they may eliminate some of our health care measures, especially antibody drugs,” Gottlieb told CNBC. “News with Shepherd Smith” on Tuesday.

“Currently, the strain appears to be widespread in South America and Brazil. Currently, two parts of the world are in the summer, but they are experiencing a very violent epidemic. That is a concern.”

As part of that, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday that scientists said, “How easily they can be transmitted and whether currently approved vaccines protect people from them. “For a better understanding,” he said he was investigating the mutant.

“Currently, there is no evidence that these mutations cause an increased risk of more serious illness or death. New information about the virological, epidemiological, and clinical features of these mutations is rapidly emerging.” I added.

“Both vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) and spontaneous infections provoke a” polyclonal “response that targets several parts of the peplomer. The virus needs to accumulate multiple mutations in peplomer to evade immunity induced by. By vaccine or natural infection “, CDC Sunday is a brief description of the new variant.

The ability to circumvent vaccine-induced immunity is of paramount concern to the CDC among the potential consequences of emerging strains. “Because when the majority of the population is vaccinated, immune pressure is created and the choice can promote and accelerate the emergence of such mutants. For” escape mutants “. “

However, the CDC emphasized that “there is no evidence that this is happening, and most experts believe that escape variants are unlikely to appear due to the nature of the virus.”

How did it start?

Experts emphasized that it is unclear where and how these variants occurred, and mutations may have occurred anywhere, depending on the particular country, that is, the country with the highest degree of surveillance. He points out that it is unfair to “blame” the country for mutations because they were discovered. You may find mutations in the virus, and therefore more.

For example, the British variant “Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium” Random gene sequencing of positive Covid-19 samples throughout the UK. Since its establishment in April 2020, the consortium has sequenced 170,256 viral genomes from people infected with Covid-19. Use the data to track outbreaks, identify variant viruses, and publish that data weekly.