Health
New coronavirus variants are a concern for Arizona health officials
There is growing concern among Arizona public health and hospital leaders about the potential impact of the new infectious coronavirus variant on the hospitalization and vaccination process.
UK, South Africa, and Brazilian variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that cause COVID-19 have not been found in Arizona, but have been identified in the country and elsewhere in the world. They raise concerns for greater transmissibility, Potential challenges For vaccines.
Joshua LaBaer, director of the Arizona State University Institute for Biodesign and leader of the university’s COVID-19 research activities, said at a press conference Wednesday.
At the beginning of January, ASU suspected that some of the COVID-19 saliva test samples could be a British variant, also known as B.1.1.7.
The variant is Sequencing, Analyze the sample to confirm the genetic code of the virus. This is one way to find new mutations and strains. State researchers warn that Arizona isn’t doing enough to monitor for new or undetected mutations.
British and Brazilian strains have been identified elsewhere in the United States, but South African variants have not yet been identified. South African variants are of particular concern as they can affect vaccine efficacy and immunity.
The first reported case of the Brazilian P.1 variant in Japan Identified on monday According to the Minnesota Ministry of Health. The variant was detected in a Minnesota resident who recently traveled to Brazil, officials said.
More contagious mutants are of concern for two main reasons. They cause an increase in spread, which leads to more hospitalizations and more deaths. Higher vaccination rates are needed to obtain herd immunity, LaBaer said.
Hospitals are worried about more infectious viruses
There is no evidence that variants cause more serious illness or higher mortality — just theyIt is more contagious, spreads faster, and can lead to a surge in another disease in Arizona.
“If one of these more infectious or infectious variants invades Arizona or here in Maricopa County, we still believe it is at risk. Dr. Michael White, Chief Medical Officer of Valleywise Health in Phoenix, said at a press conference Wednesday.
Dignity Health, Arizona, “closely monitors research data on newly emerging COVID-19 mutants,” strong evidence suggests that some mutants can accelerate virus spread and increase hospitalization. It suggests sex, spokesman Carmel Markovich wrote in an email Wednesday.
Dr. Marjorie Vessel, Chief Clinical Officer at Phoenix-based Banner Health, said at a press conference Wednesday that variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus could cause more cases and deaths in Arizona. However, he said that many unknowns still remain.
She added that a “very plausible” variant of the new coronavirus is already in Arizona, even in the absence of confirmed cases.
“As we learned through the coronavirus pandemic, the virus spreads fairly quickly around the world,” she said.
“This is an evolving and dynamic situation, and we continue to monitor it very carefully and carefully, and we hope that more information on this will be revealed in the coming weeks and months. “
As of Wednesday, 293 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were identified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 24 states in the United States. This includes neighboring California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
Breakdown: 92 in Florida. 90 cases in California. 22 New York; 17 Michigan; 9 in Colorado.9 people in Illinois; 7 people in Texas. 6 people in Georgia. 5 people in Minnesota. 5 people in Pennsylvania. Four in Indiana. Four in Maryland. Four in Connecticut. Three in Massachusetts. Three in Wisconsin.Two in Wyoming; Two in New Jersey. Two in Tennessee. Two in New Mexico. One for Louisiana. One in North Carolina. One in Oregon. According to CDC data, one is in Utah and the other is in Washington.
CDC officials said the identified cases are based on sampling of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples and do not represent the total number of B.1.1.7 cases that may be prevalent in the United States. ..
The ASU saliva test can detect highly infectious UK variants, as each test you perform usually looks for three specific genes in the virus. In the UK variant, one of these genes was mutated and disappeared in some tests. If the ASU saliva test returns positive for two genes and negative for one gene, it may be a British variant.
Sequencing is needed to detect South African and Brazilian variants, and researchers say Arizona needs more.
The lab is monitoring it, but so far testing with that pattern has not been a UK variant. South African and Brazilian variants require sequencing to detect, and researchers say Arizona needs more.
A Research The UK variant, announced last month by British researchers at the London School of Economics and Tropical Medicine Infectious Disease Mathematical Modeling Center, is 56% more contagious than existing variants of SARS-CoV-2. I understand. This study has not yet gone through a peer-review process that self-regulates articles in scientific journals.
Increased infectivity of British variants “is likely to lead to a significant increase in the incidence of the disease,” the researchers write.
AC DC Report The UK variant of the new coronavirus, released on January 12, said it could become a major US variant in March.
“Increased SARS-CoV-2 infections threaten tense medical resources, require extended and more rigorous implementation of public health strategies, and may increase the proportion of herd immunity required for pandemic control.” The report said.
“By taking steps to reduce infections, we can reduce the potential impact of B.1.1.7 and give us significant time to increase vaccination coverage.”
Dr. Cara Christ, director of health at Arizona, said at a press conference on January 15 that the state is on the lookout for stocks like British variants.
“We are on the lookout for mutant coronaviruses,” she said. “We are watching what these variants cause. At this point, the transmission rate seems to be high. It does not seem to affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, but. , That’s what we’re always careful about, because we know that viruses are always mutated. “
Christ confirmed that the state had “appropriate tests and resources” and said it was focusing on vaccination of Arizona.
“Battle between vaccines and mutants”
According to LaBaer, South African variants are of concern because they can reduce the response of the vaccine and are no longer useful, but they may not be as effective as they would otherwise be.
“I think this will be a theme we will see in the coming weeks. There will be a battle between vaccines and mutants,” La Baer said. “There is always this risk that some of them will become resistant to the vaccine as more variants emerge. We really want to prevent that from happening.”
Another possible concern raised by LaBaer is that, at this point, in theory, the virus that mutates and makes people resistant to the vaccine during the period between the first and second vaccinations. It is a risk that you may have it.
Initial vaccination does not provide partial but complete immunity. This means that individuals can become infected with COVID-19 during the 3 or 4 weeks between shots, opening the door to the development of vaccine-resistant mutants.
LaBaer said it’s similar to how doctors recommend patients to take the entire course of antibiotics when treating a bacterial infection to kill all bacteria so that they aren’t resistant to antibiotics. ..
If a person who is partially immunized with the vaccine becomes infected with the virus, the virus can evolve into a mutant that can resist the vaccine. The person can then spread the variant to others.
LaBaer said this is theoretical, as there is no documented study of evidence to prove it. But it’s based on how the virus works, he said.
“The virus has a biological obligation to survive. Anyone who is good at altering itself by mutation and avoiding selective pressure on it will appear,” he said. .. “So, if the body is a little immune but not enough immune to kill it, it can start to develop the virus and, of course, the currently infected person can spread the virus to others. And now you start seeing the development of strains that are potentially resistant to the vaccine. “
According to LaBaer, people should try to avoid getting sick between vaccinations and assume that they are completely immune until after both injections.
How to stop a new variant?Reduce the spread of the virus
An effective way to help delay the spread of variants and the creation of new variants is to reduce the amount of virus that is prevalent in the community.
“We continue to read and confirm that we may be able to see different variants of the virus that are more contagious or infectious and can enter Arizona,” Valley said. Wise White said.
“It’s not time to relax our vigilance. Keep our masking, keep our social distance, keep our circle small. Vaccines allow us to return to more routine activities. It’s a step that helps us to be able to do it, but it will take some time before we can get a critical dose of the vaccine. “
Malkovich, a spokesman for Dignity Health, said that the best way to avoid another surge is to continuously mitigate by following infectious disease protocols, such as wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping social distances. I said there is.
“It is highly recommended that the general public be vaccinated as soon as possible. Reaching herd immunity through vaccination will help delay the spread of COVID-19 and the consequent hospitalization,” she said. writing.
The more viruses, the more likely it is that more problematic mutants will develop, LaBaer said.
“I just want to reduce the viral load,” he said, reducing the chances of mutation. “The more mutations that occur in a virus, the more likely it is that sooner or later a virus will emerge that is better infected and evaded than other viruses.”
According to LaBaer, those who are “really good at becoming bad viruses” will prevail.
“We don’t want to give the virus that opportunity. First, the more we vaccinate people, and second, the more we continue to shut down mitigation strategies to limit the spread of the virus, the more these 2 This will prevent the virus from multiplying and reduce the number of variants. “
Republic reporter Amanda Morris contributed to this article
Please contact the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach
Contact Healthcare Reporter Stephanie Ines [email protected] Or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes
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