The new COVID stock is already here. It will be too late to stop their spread.

new stock It’s already here and it’s circulating.

A highly contagious British variant of the coronavirus has been found in New Jersey and more than 20 other states. A Brazilian strain was detected in Minnesota. And experts are afraid that South African mutations may arrive soon.

The variant remains concerned with health authorities concerned that rapidly changing viruses could reduce the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

“The new strains that arrive are of concern, especially if they are highly contagious and / or if the vaccine turns out to be ineffective,” said Dr. David Senimo, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers University of New Jersey Medicine. I will.

According to experts, coronavirus sequencing is limited nationwide, so it is unclear how widespread the new strain is in the United States.

British variants Found in new jersey Long after alleged being here, following incidents in New York, Pennsylvania, and other neighboring states. Then on Monday, health officials discovered a Brazilian stock in Minnesota.

White House Extend travel bans in Europe and Brazil and add South Africa. But even if a travel ban is effective, it is unlikely to completely stop the spread of tensions in the United States, experts say.

And homemade strains have already emerged in California and Ohio.

“Do you think border restrictions will hinder you? [spread] 100%? … no chance, “said Dr. Reynold Panettieri, Vice President of Translation Medicine and Science at Rutgers University. “But it represents a step in the right direction to prevent a large number of viruses from entering the United States. It’s not a complete temporary measure, but it can be beneficial.”

Mutation was expected. The question that weighs heavily on the minds of experts is whether the new, highly contagious mutants are deadly, and whether they can reduce the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine.

According to the state health department, the first US case of a Brazilian strain (P.1) involved residents of Minnesota who “recently traveled to Brazil.” Not only is this strain highly contagious, it also carries the risk of reinfection due to “a series of mutations that can affect the ability to be recognized by antibodies.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..

The UK strain (B.1.1.7) is expected to become the predominant mutant strain in the United States by March. It is considered more contagious and experts are now afraid that it can be more toxic.

“If it’s true that the latest UK data is really deadly … that’s another-obviously-a problem,” Cennimo said.

Also, a South African strain (501Y.V2), which is similar to the UK strain, raises concerns that it may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine.Researchers studying the recently discovered Moderna vaccine “Neutralizing antibody” level reduced to 1/6 For South African variants, “above the expected level of protection,” the drug company said.

Correspondingly, Moderna is testing possible new booster doses for the strain.

Moderna’s news is calm that the virus is adapting faster than previously thought, but can also mutate in ways that help avoid vaccines that are still being deployed in New Jersey and across the country. Is shown.

Further research is being conducted in the laboratory to better answer these questions, such as whether new mutants may affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.

“They are running a scenario about how mutants can alter peplomers and make them invisible to the human immune system,” Panettieri said.

Some early data show that South African variants under laboratory testing affect vaccine efficacy. However, researchers cannot be sure until the strain spreads and the actual data can be examined.

“It’s an unpleasant place, but it’s true,” Panettieri said. “But recent evidence is that peaplomers are mutated and mutated in areas of proteins that can reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine. There is no clear evidence yet. That’s why, after all. , We can say we don’t know, but we will know over time. “

Cennimo expressed similar feelings, saying that over time it would be clear how the virus strain would react among vaccinated people.

Cennimo, like many other experts, says that the new strain remains largely unchanged in terms of stopping the spread of COVID-19. Social distance and wearing a mask are still important factors. These measures effectively delayed the spread of the original strain, and it applies to any new variety that arises, he said.

“For now, and in the near future, it’s the same plan. It’s the same mitigation strategy,” Cennimo said.

But he is on the lookout for new strains and children. Educational authorities continue to discuss whether all schools should be reopened, as experts were not the first effective spreaders of the virus to fear at the dawn of the pandemic.

However, some studies have mutated British variants to better infect people under the age of 20, allowing teens and children to become more effective carriers of the virus. .. So Cennimo is wondering how that will affect the reopening effort.

“Although not yet proven, there was some evidence that the virus could have mutated to gain the ability to infect the lungs of children,” Cennimo said. “But anecdotally, it fits the following: You have more infections in your child.

“In that case, the children are not always as protected as they used to be and are not always relatively safe from infection. Therefore, risk calculations need to be redone to determine if the school is okay. “

There may be scenarios where schools will resume, just as the virus has found a way to better infect children. This is the worst scenario, but it’s not impossible.

Cennimo emphasized that he was only speculating, but said he was still monitoring new mutations and their effects on children.

So do other experts.

“If there’s something really obviously different where it really becomes a game changer, that’s what we have to react to,” Cennimo said. “But we haven’t actually seen it yet.”

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Spencer Kent may reach at [email protected]..